Here’s why the St. Louis Cardinals should trade for Albert Pujols
I have a trade proposal that won’t change the 2020 season for the St. Louis Cardinals, but it could help turn the page to 2020 while bringing the franchise some much-needed excitement.
What if the Cardinals traded Carlos Martinez and Dexter Fowler to the Los Angeles Angels for our old friend and future Hall of Fame inductee Albert Pujols?
Yeah, I know. Pujols is well past his expiration date. He’s a small fraction of the player he was when he wore the Birds on the Bat. I don’t expect him to suit up and make a significant contribution from either the first base position or else the designated hitter spot, should that abomination become a permanent part of the National League in 2021.
What I am shooting for is a two-part benefit for the Cardinals who, like all the other teams in baseball have had to play their games without fans this season. Even if Pujols is a glorified pinch hitter, wouldn’t it be nice to give fans a chance to see him finish his career in St. Louis? I know, if I wasn’t a season ticket holder, that I would certainly spend some cash on tickets to see one of the best Cardinals to wear the uniform suit up again. It would be like the last hurrah for Lou Brock in 1979 or Ozzie Smith’s farewell tour a couple of decades later. It would just set things right. They might sell out every single game after not hosting a single fan in 2020. Let’s strengthen the franchise by breaking it’s all-time attendance record.
Second, the trade would turn the page on Dexter Fowler, who is actually having a decent season. But he’s clearly not in the team’s long-term plans. It also puts an end to the enigmatic Cardinals chapter of Martinez’s career. He’s a guy with brilliant stuff -- who always seems to be causing a distraction. The Angels are desperate for pitching. So, I imagine they’d be willing to add a guy who is capable of being either a middle of the rotation starter or a high-leverage reliever. The Cardinals have the depth to be able to afford to give Martinez up, and if I was the St. Louis GM I would only be willing to make a trade that saw the Angels take on the same amount of salary as Pujols will get in 2021.
Like the Cardinals, Los Angeles would also turn the page on a particularly unfortunate era in the club’s history. Remember when they signed Pujols and he said he left not for the money but because he wanted to have a chance to win some more World Series rings? Well, that hasn’t exactly happened. The Angels knew when they paid Pujols into his forties that year 10 of the deal might not be so great. But I don’t think the club was counting on years one, two and three to not be so hot, either. Pujols moved to Southern California with a .328 career batting average. He’s below .300 now. You have to be monumentally bad to drag your batting average down 30 points over the second half of your career.
I came to terms with Pujols not playing every game of his Hall of Fame career in a St. Louis Cardinals uniform a long, long time ago. But what always stuck in my craw was the personal services contract he signed with the Angels that will prevent him from being associated with the Cardinals for a decade after he hangs it up. THAT, more than his bat or his glove, is what I want to see the Cardinals trade to acquire. With Bob Gibson and Lou Brock in their 80s and fighting brave battles with cancer, the Birds need to bring Pujols back home so he can ride around the warning track on opening day and so he can share his wisdom and work ethic with the baby birds.
Why the Angels should trade Albert Pujols
The Angels don’t need Pujols to be their mascot. If anything, they probably don’t want him around to remind them that the flushed more than a quarter of a billion dollars down the toilet. It sure seems like a better deal for them to trade Pujols away than to continue to put money into him. And it’s a lot better ending to the Pujols story than the way their Josh Hamilton saga came to an end.
By trading Fowler — yes, I know he has a no-trade clause, but wouldn’t you accept a deal to Los Angeles if you knew you’d have a chance to play and to live nearer your Arizona off-season home? — and Martinez, the Cardinals can make the deal cash neutral in 2021, the last year of Albert’s contract and Fowler’s too. Then the Angels can decide if they want to pick up Martinez’s options in the future — while saving $10 million on paying Pujols to show up in front of a half-empty ballpark on Opening Day.
Clearing Martinez’s salary would be key in adding a much-needed middle of the order bat for the future -- while trying to bring Yadier Molina back for an encore or two.
The move further helps the Cardinals because it opens up outfield space. Dylan Carlson is here to stay and will take up one outfield spot next year. Right now, it looks like the most likely place for him to play is right field, the place Fowler is most likely to play if he’s in the lineup. The Cardinals have plenty of pitching and no longer need Martinez. I’d rather see one of the kids who replaced him during his time on the Injured List fighting COVID-19 get his spot in the rotation next season. Plus, the Cardinals have Miles Mikolas coming back next year.
It’s not a move that makes the Cardinals instant World Series contender. But trading excess parts to reunite the team with its most legendary player of the past 50 years makes sense on a lot of levels. I’d love to see it happen so we’d have something to look forward to after a lost season for the fans in 2020.
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Scott Wuerz is a lifelong St. Louis Cardinals fan. The Cheap Seats blog is written from his perspective as a fan and is designed to spark discussion among fans of the Cardinals and other MLB teams. Sources supporting his views and opinions are linked. If you’re looking for Cardinals news and features, check out the BND’s Cardinals section.
