Albert Pujols turns down St. Louis Cardinals contract offer – MLB News
The St. Louis Cardinals offered Albert Pujols a contract offer which was rejected by him. It seems that the offer was not up to mark of what Pujols was expecting from the team.
The Cardinals will be slightly worried, as Pujols is a tremendous player and his worth has been proven time and time again as he has won many games for the team over the past few seasons. Pujols is considered to be the best player in baseball by many experts.
The Cardinals will be looking to lock him into some sort of contract as Spring Training is starting soon.
Most of the details regarding the offer made by the Cardinals to Pujols has been kept in the dark as the both parties are unwilling to divulge any information to the media. Dan Lozano, Pujols’ agent has been instructed by the player not to contact other
teams during Spring Training as Albert does not want to attract attention and create a media circus for the Cardinals during this crucial time of the season. Pujols respects the fact that team will be hoping to focus on Spring Training and not his contract.
This shows great character on the part of Pujols. It looks as if he is confident that the Cardinals will come up with something that both parties can agree on soon. If the Cardinals are unable to finalise a deal, Pujols could become a free agent after the
2011 season. This is a nightmare scenario for the Cardinals, as they would hate to lose their best player to another team due to some salary disagreement.
It is rumoured that Pujols is looking for a 10 year contract worth $30 million a year. This would bring up to par with players like Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees. However the Cardinals are said to be offering a seven year contract instead. This
is something that is unacceptable to Pujols and thus the rejection of the offer by the player. Many experts feel that Pujols is totally worth this high amount as he is game winner and has a proven track record for the Cardinals.
The effect of losing Pujols on the Cardinals is something the team does not want to imagine, as it could definitely turn the team upside down. Pujols is the centre piece of the team and when he is performing well, the rest of the team follows.
Most experts are under the impression that there is still time for the Cardinals to hire him for atleast this year and then work with him for a long term contract for the long term. However, most of this speculation and rumours all land on the shoulders
of Pujols as he does not talk openly about contract negotiations in the media.
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