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Cards should do their best to keep Pujols happy

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Ken Rosenthal

Ken Rosenthal has been the senior baseball writer for FOXSports.com since August 2005. He appears weekly on MLB on FOX. Follow him on Twitter.

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Updated Jul 10, 2009 11:47 AM ET
     
 
The Cardinals are on the clock.
Not just until the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, but until they sign first baseman Albert Pujols to his next contract. The two are not necessarily unrelated. As the Cardinals prepare to meet the Cubs this weekend (MLB on FOX, Saturday, 4:10 p.m. ET), friends of Pujols say that he is disturbed by the team's direction, skeptical of ownership's commitment to winning. Pujols himself hinted at his concern last month when he told Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "If we take care of business here in the clubhouse and the field, I don't think the owners and general manager are blind. They need to see what we see. I don't think they're blind." The Cardinals, leading the NL Central, since have made a significant trade, adding approximately $3 million in payroll by acquiring infielder Mark DeRosa from the Indians. Few clubs are willing to take on that much salary in a trying economy. To win the fierce competition for DeRosa, the Cardinals traded reliever Chris Perez and a player to be named. Yet, the team still might need to do more, particularly now that DeRosa is out with a wrist injury. Not to impress me. Not to impress you. To impress Pujols, the best player on the planet and featured attraction of next week's All-Star festivities in St. Louis. Oh, and also to impress manager Tony La Russa, whose contract expires after this season — and whose departure undoubtedly would upset Pujols, with whom he is close. The combined price in prospects and dollars likely will be too steep for Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak to land Blue Jays right- hander Roy Halladay or A's left fielder Matt Holliday. But a lesser, DeRosa-type move might be enough for the Cardinals to win their modest division, even though the Cubs, trailing by only 3 1/2 games, cannot play much worse in the second half. The situation with Pujols is not yet urgent; he is under the Cardinals' control through 2011, seemingly giving the two sides ample time to work out a new deal. In a perfect world, the Cardinals would sign him to an extension as quickly as possible, perhaps even this offseason. But Pujols, 29, will be in no rush. He is getting paid $16 million per season through 2011. First baseman Mark Teixeira signed a free-agent contract with the Yankees last season for an average salary of $22.5 million. No one, not even Teixeira, would dispute that Pujols deserves more. Pujols' combined on-base/slugging percentage is the highest in history by a right-handed hitter. He is a Gold Glove-caliber defender and outstanding baserunner, relentlessly aggressive in every aspect of the game. Yet, a reasonable argument also can be made against the Cardinals awarding Pujols a Teixeira-type contract. For starters, the Cardinals could buy a whole bunch of quality players with the money they would pay Pujols, particularly at today's prices. Stephen Walters and John Burger, economics professors at Loyola College in Maryland, wrote in 2003 that any player is worth more — that is, delivers more revenue to his club — if he plays in a larger market. Thus, paying Pujols $20 million per season would be more sensible for say, the Yankees, than it would be for the Cardinals. Finally, in an era of strict drug testing, players again are aging more normally. There never has been a hint of suspicion about Pujols. But 35 is the new 40 in baseball — or, more accurately, the old 35. Pujols will begin his next contract at 32. The Cardinals need to consider how long he will continue producing at an elite level. Pujols need not worry; he will get his money one way or another. What he wants is to win another World Series or three, adding to the joy of his first championship, the Cardinals' surprising title in 2006. The question is whether the team can satisfy his goals. The Cardinals, like most clubs, have increased their emphasis on developing young talent in recent years. The rise of Jeff Luhnow, who heads both scouting and player development, helped create an organizational rift that led to the departure of the team's previous GM, Walt Jocketty. But while the Cardinals are not producing homegrown talent at the level of say, the Red Sox, they're starting to get results, developing impact players as well as lesser contributors. Outfielder Colby Rasmus is the leading candidate for NL Rookie of the Year. Third baseman Brett Wallace, the team's first-round pick in '08, is a highly regarded slugger. And the Cardinals, in a departure from their previous ways, recently invested a reported $3.1 million in 16-year-old Dominican outfielder Wagner Mateo. Indeed, the Cardinals rarely get credit for the money they do spend — case in point, the four-year, $41 million deal they gave right-hander Kyle Lohse at the end of last season, keeping him off the free-agent market. The opening of the new Busch Stadium in '06 created the expectation that the team would operate with greater financial muscle. Yet, the Cardinals' Opening Day payroll of $88.5 million actually was lower than it was in '06, and — due to the economy — a significant dropoff from the team's record $99.6 million payroll a year ago. Four players — Pujols, Lohse, right-hander Chris Carpenter, third baseman Troy Glaus — account for more than half of this year's payroll. Pujols would command an even higher percentage if his salary rose to between $20 million and $25 million per season without an accompanying increase in the team's budget. It goes back to commitment. Pujols received his current seven-year, $100 million contract after only three years of service. The deal which at the time raised questions within the industry, proved to be a bargain. Pujols even deferred $3 million per season from his 2007-10 salaries without interest. His idea: To give the team more payroll flexibility. The Cardinals rank 13th in the majors in payroll this season, third in their division behind the Cubs and Astros. Perhaps that is where they should be, based on their market size. But questions persist about ownership's intentions, inside and outside the clubhouse. The clock is ticking, toward July 31, toward 2011. Pujols' actions, as always, will speak louder than any words.
Tagged: Chris Carpenter, Mark Teixeira, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Mark DeRosa, Albert Pujols, Indians, Chris Perez, Kyle Lohse, Cubs, Roy Halladay, Colby Rasmus, Yankees, Cardinals

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