It has been well documented as spring training begins that Cardinals firstbasemen Albert Pujols will not be negotiating a new contract during the season since he is in the last year of his deal. So, by the end of the 2011 season, the best player in baseball will be free to sign with any team he pleases. Here are a few team I believe have the best chance to sign him:
The Cubbies are in the market for a first basemen since Derrek Lee was traded to the Braves last season. Stealing Pujols from the division rival Cardinals would be a major addition for a team that has fallen off in recently after being considered a contender in the NL for so many years. Plus they have that whole, haven't won the World Series since 1908 thing going.
The Angels have always shown an interest in signing big name free agents; they were the favorite to land Carl Crawford before he signed with the Red Sox. They have Kendry Morales at first for now; Pujols would be an upgrad in the field and Morales could play DH. Prince Albert would fit in perfectly with that lineup and the more I think about it, the more this seems like the best place he could land.
After losing in the Cliff Lee sweepstakes, the Rangers have some money to spend. Yeah, they are going to have to pay guys like Elivs Andrus and Hamilton long term and they just added Adrian Beltre at third. But adding Pujols to an already excellent lineup would make them a lethal team in the American League West.
This is more of a hope of mine, but it would be awesome if the Nationals made a run at Albert Pujols. As a Phillies fan, I know how lowly this franchise has been for all of the past 25 years. This offseason, they gave Jayson Werth a 7 year, $126 million dollar deal. 2012 will see the return of phenom pitcher Steven Strasburg along with another year of development of the young talent on the squad. That could also be the year potentially we see Bryce Harper in the big leagues. As I said before, it is probably just a dream of mine to see Pujols surprise everyone and go to Washington and help turn around an awful Expos, I mean Nationals franchise.
The Mets are known to spend big money, and free agents are quick to head to the Big Apple when given the chance so they can make extra money with endorsements. After this season the team will rid themselves the contracts of CF Carlos Beltran, SS Luis Castillo and CP Francisco Rodriguez, clearing up space to sign some players. The financial questions surrounding the Mets, along with the 23 year old Ike Davis could keep them from making a run at Pujols. Also, new GM Sandy Alderson is a "Moneyball" guy and will probably try to steer clear from dropping a huge contract for one guy.
You cannot have a big market free agent out there and not mention the Bombers. They have been known to throw around the big bucks at guys they consider to be top players in the game (Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett, etc.), so Pujols would be no different in that regard. The only problem is, they are not in any big need of a first basemen. Teixeira is a fantastic defensive first basemen having won 4 gold gloves (including 2009 and 2010 with the Yankees). So, unless they wish to give Pujols $30 million a year for him to be a DH, because let's be honest, they have Posada in that spot going into this year, I'm not too sure how big of a player they will be in trying to sign him.
As I said, this is just mere speculation on my part looking at teams that could potentially be in the market for one of the all time greatest hitters of all time. Of course, Pujols could surprise us all and re-sign with the Cardinals before the season ends. It will be interesting to see how far it goes; reports from spring training are saying Cardinals SP Adam Wainwright has a significant elbow injury (Tommy John surgery?). If their season crumbles, is it possible Pujols could become a rental player by the trading deadline? We shall see.
