JUPITER, Fla. — Albert Pujols, twice a World Series champion and three times an MVP while starring for the Cardinals from 2001-11, is set to rejoin his former team in hopes of helping it win another title, a source told MLB.com on Sunday night.
Pujols, 42, has agreed to a one-year deal with the Cardinals worth $2.5 million, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. The deal, which is pending a physical, has not been announced by the club.
Pujols hit .328 with 445 home runs and won World Series titles in 2006 and ’11 with the Cardinals. Also, Pujols was a nine-time All-Star and a two-time Gold Glove winner during his stint with St. Louis.
Pujols, just 21 home runs shy of 700 for his career, will most likely serve as a right-handed designated hitter against lefties and a power-hitting pinch-hitter, with four-time Gold Glover Paul Goldschmidt locked in at first base. Team president John Mozeliak spoke prior to the start of training camp of wanting internal candidates such as Nolan Gorman, Lars Nootbaar and Juan Yepez to get the first shots at winning the DH job, but clearly the franchise has changed its thinking on the matter and will likely look to lean on Pujols’ experience and still powerful bat.
New Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol, who has been with the organization since Pujols starred in St. Louis, said on Sunday morning prior to his team’s 7-3 loss to the Mets that the Cardinals wanted their younger players to succeed at the DH slot. It seems like that line of thinking has now shifted with the veteran Pujols in the mix.
Pujols left the Cardinals not long after winning a title in 2011 to sign a 10-year, $240 million free-agent deal with the Los Angeles Angels. However, he was nowhere near the difference maker in Southern California that he was in St. Louis, and he earned just one All-Star berth during his time with the Angels. He was designated for assignment early last season and ended up signing with the Dodgers, where he hit .254 and 12 home runs in 85 games.
Pujols will rejoin former teammates Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright; the three were franchise fixtures on St. Louis teams that won World Series crowns in 2006 and ’11 and captured three National League pennants between 2004-11. All three will be older than the 35-year-old Marmol, who has been in the organization for the last 1 1/2 decades and is very familiar with the legend of Pujols in Cardinals circles.
Even before the Pujols signing, Marmol said that there is a strong sentiment within the Cardinals that the season will be viewed as a disappointment if they don’t contend for a World Series. Pujols figures to strengthen that chase with a powerful right-handed bat that is still feared throughout baseball.