Mar

Albert Pujols Contract Rumors: Cardinals may not retain him if he wants to be highest paid

By Allan

Joe Strauss of STLToday.com says that the St. Louis Cardinals have dropped hints with slugger Albert Pujols that the club may not be able to retain him if he is determined to be the game’s highest-paid player. Pujols will be a free agent after the completion of the 2011 season.

Reports back in January have said that Pujols will be in the $20+ million range since Mark Teixeira ($22.5 million per year) and Alex Rodriguez ($27.5 million per year) are the two closest players that one can compare with Pujols. Strauss says that the Cardinals have not offered him any deal exceeding Rodriguez’s average annual salary, and Strauss guesses that the team will not reach those numbers.

So from Pujols’ perspective, do you take less than top dollar even though you may be the game’s best player? If you’re Pujols’ agent, Dan Lozano of the Beverly Hills Sports Council, do you take a smaller deal that does not re-set the salary ceiling?

Strauss predicts that there is more than a 20 percent chance that Pujols stays. He says that the Cardinals’ best chance would have been to sign Pujols before the 2010 season. The Cardinals will be losing leverage as the season progresses since by dragging the negotiations out Pujols will swing the power balance in his favor. The Cardinals would be in a good position to trade him as early as possible so the receiving team could use him for potentially two playoff runs rather than one run in 2011 before he becomes a free agent. The longer Pujols new team has to use his services will require a bigger exchange in prospects that will be sent the Cardinals way.