Dreaming of Albert Pujols as a Brave (but it’s a budget killer)
There goes another home run by Albert Pujols, who'll soon be up for bidding.
It appears the St. Louis Cardinals’ Albert Pujols will become a free agent after this baseball season, which almost certainly means we are on the verge of seeing a new record contract in baseball, as well as the next magazine cover: “Albert Inc. and the Lesser 499 of the Fortune 500.”
The other day, I threw out “a guy can dream” joke about the Braves making a bid for Pujols. Should’ve known but about a dozen folks sent me emails (and other notes on Facebook or Twitter) asking if I really th0ught that would or could happen. The short answer: no.
Pujols obviously is a great player, and first base has been a black hole for the Braves since I think Joe Adcock left. (Kids: Google). The latest hope is that prospect Freddie Freeman turns into the next great thing. If that happens, the organization is set at first for a while.
But this is Albert Pujols, the best player in the game. There aren’t that many players who immediately can turn a team into a contender. He’s one of them. Imagine the Braves’ infield of the future: Pujols at first, Dan Uggla at second, anybody at short and Martin Prado at third. Add Brian McCann and Jason Heyward and you’ve got as good a lineup as this city has seen in a while.
But the issue is money. Here’s how it breaks down.
First, the good news:
– Kenshin Kawakami ($7.3 million) and Nate McLouth ($6.5 million) come off the books following this season. That’s $13.8 million right there.
Now, the rest of the news:
– Derek Lowe, the team’s highest paid player at $15 million per season. will be entering the final year of his contract in 2012. Conceivably, the team could suck it up for a year and blow the budget out. But that’s not likely to happen. Lowe would be more trade-able in the final year of his contract but finding a team to take on a $15 million player, even a solid starting pitcher, still isn’t easy.
– Chipper Jones could be done this year. Or he may not be going anywhere. His contract calls for $13 million this season, $13 million in 2012 and a club option at probably $7 million to $10 million in 2013.
– The Braves already have made a long-term commitment to Uggla ($62 million for five years) are paying Tim Hudson ($9 million) and Brian McCann ($8.667 million) through 2012. On top of that, they have to prepare for the future major paydays of Heyward and Tommy Hanson. (We’ll leave Jair Jurrjens out of this discussion for now.)
Here’s the unfortunate truth: The Braves stick to a budget (even if we never really know what that budget is). They will commit major dollars to a limited number of players. To go after a guy like Pujols — who already has rejected an eight-year contract at $25 million per season and may be seeking $30 million annually — would necessitate blowing up the rest of the roster.
Do I think the Braves would do that? No. Do I think Liberty Media would suddenly take the clamps off the budget? No. But feel free to dream.
Thoughts? Should the Braves go after Pujols at all costs?
By Jeff Schultz
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167 comments Add your comment
Kashi
February 16th, 2011
12:20 pm
What about a big CAT, A. Galaragas in 1st base?
Kashi
February 16th, 2011
12:24 pm
why Andrew Jones is not working out in Boras state of the art GYM? I am glad Peavy deal didn’t get done. Who was the braves players included in that deal? Sad we gave up G. Blanco for nothing to Royals. With Gonzalaes being a manager do you wish we hadn’t trade Yunel Escobar? AG has no rage of Escobar in SS and too many erros.
Chopper
February 16th, 2011
12:25 pm
Reality:
The haul it would take to trade for Pujols would start with Julio Teheran and Freddie Freeman and most likely include Mike Minor and maybe another prospect. And that’s if you could convince Pujols to waive his no-trade clause, which he’s unlikely to do. He wants the ability to take the highest bid.
If the Braves want to kick the tires on Pujols in free agency it’s not likely to be financially feasible. Pujols’ price is $30 million for 10 years right now. But in free agency what will that be? Remember the Washington Nationals paid Jayson Werth twice what he’s really worth and probably $40 million more than what his next highest offer was. So you’d be bidding against that and the Cubs, at least, if not the Mets (if they get their finances back on track after the Madoff scandal) or the Dodgers if they get past the McCourt divorce. All of those could/would outbid the Braves.
coach13
February 16th, 2011
12:25 pm
GwinnettBravsFan- that has to be the dumbest suggestion I have ever heard in here.
Dale
February 16th, 2011
12:33 pm
This article is complete mental mastrubation!!! The Braves have never been in contention for any top free-agents and will not even be in the conversation about which team signs Albert Pujols! What a waste of space.
1eyedJack
February 16th, 2011
12:39 pm
Pujols? No way. Future Yankee. And while we’re at it we can start to say our goodbyes to JJ and Hanson (Scott Boras clients).
James
February 16th, 2011
12:40 pm
I can see him being a Cub especially if he feels he was disrespected by the Cardinals and wan’t to show them up by becoming a Cub.
Ryan in TN
February 16th, 2011
12:41 pm
Enter your comments here
Ryan in TN
February 16th, 2011
12:45 pm
The Braves should absolutely go after Pujols, only if the Braves raise the payroll. Before they can become serious contenders for the East and WS, they have to have a player like Pujols. Uggla, Heyward, and McCann, are great pieces and the pitching staff is ready. Big Albert would put the puzzle together.
Ted M
February 16th, 2011
12:46 pm
Most of the big spenders are set at first, the Mets are having financial issues as are the Dodgers so it will be the Cubs or the Cards. $27mil per annum in my prediction.
Ted M
February 16th, 2011
12:48 pm
Maybe the Pirates will bid on him…ha ha ha
Matt
February 16th, 2011
12:49 pm
Save the money for Heyward
Guthro
February 16th, 2011
12:50 pm
Pujols has 3-5 top years left. $300 million for 10 years would work out to $60 million per good year for a non-team player. Excellent prospect for the Yankees or Dodgers.
Gordo
February 16th, 2011
12:50 pm
Granted Albert Pujols is a great player. But I’m sorry No Athlete is worth the kind of money they are being paid today to play a GAME. Players are greedy. Baseball is a team sport, it’s not golf or tennis. If you spend all your money on one player you get nothing to go with him. Look what happen to the Rangers when they paid A-Rod all that money. It’s time to see sports for what it really is. A bunch of overpriced, greedy babies playing a GAME.
Marvin Mangrum
February 16th, 2011
12:57 pm
Crime Dog you moron, thats why you are so well read.
Jethro Bodeen
February 16th, 2011
1:02 pm
I usually dream about the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders myself!
Jeff
February 16th, 2011
1:02 pm
I would rather dream about a day when the Braves are owned by someone who cares about winning
Sweet Old Buck
February 16th, 2011
1:03 pm
What are you smoking?
Najeh Davenpoop
February 16th, 2011
1:04 pm
Fred McGriff and Andres Galarraga were pretty good. A little more than black holes, I think.
I’d love to see Poo holes as a Brave, but this isn’t 1992 (the last time an Atlanta franchise spent big money in free agency on a franchise altering player). If the Braves continue to draft pitching like they have, they will be fine without him.
tyger
February 16th, 2011
1:04 pm
Well, if fan opinion matters, I would actually buy a season ticket, if they had more than one player worth seeing.
Moose
February 16th, 2011
1:11 pm
Pujol to the Yankees…count on it. Why would anyone be surprised?
Tucker T
February 16th, 2011
1:11 pm
Someone is desperate for a column topic. Silly.
KennyP
February 16th, 2011
1:14 pm
you have officially run out of ideas to write about.
Phillistein
February 16th, 2011
1:26 pm
Must be a slow day in Florida
JSS
February 16th, 2011
1:26 pm
Why do you folks do this to yourself? It has been 15 years since any front line Free Agent of any import has been pursued and signed by any Atlanta sports franchise in the free market. Dikembe Mutombo, that was the last guy… Since then, it has been rent a trade and expiring contracts swaps. Atlanta is no longer a destination for players as a first choice… I know that hurts, but it is the reality of the moment…
Pujois will not sign here as a first choice. Two teams who should step to the front of the line should be the Angels and the Dodgers. They have fan bases who are tiring of finishing on the outside. @ Jeff Schultz, that Cubs pursuit is not far-fetched. They have a long history of raiding each other. It is just the Cardinals have generally gotten the better of the deals. (i.e. Lou Brock)… The Cardinals did this to them self…
BL
February 16th, 2011
1:28 pm
Schultz, Must be nice to get paid to clown around.
5150 UOAD
February 16th, 2011
1:28 pm
I would rather have a Lemke than a Pujolas. Lemmer hit when needed and PU only helps get you wins when they don’t matter.
stinger
February 16th, 2011
1:30 pm
Of course, if you can afford him, that’s you World Series Birth. No question..if they can afford him…get him. Now it really makes me sick to think what they are paying Chipper…that’ll probably be the reason they can’t afford Pujols
5150 UOAD
February 16th, 2011
1:32 pm
Bobby is sniffing JOCKS in FLA. He don’t want to the like BEAR Bryant and die a few months after retiring. Bobby needs life giving sweat of young men to kep him felling alive. Leave BOBBY alone. Let him run out of the stands and get thrown out of a Spring Game. It will make him feel like a younger man.
Lowcountry Bulldawg
February 16th, 2011
1:34 pm
470 million dollars….
The total values left on the contracts of A-Rod, Tex and CC.
That is why Pujols will not be a Yankee.
Red Sox….
Just signed Crawford, aquired Gonzalez, have Youkilis, and have big money tied up to Lackey and Matsuzaka. A-GON in a walk year also and is 29 compared to Pujols at 31.
If anyone would be in the market it would be a team like Anaheim,Baltimore, SF,Seattle or the Mets. The latter two have young prospects at the position which would make them unlikey to also.
Baltimore could be a fit as Angelos has plenty of young arms and had D.Lee signed as a stopgap 1st baseman as is not financially locked into current bigtime contracts. Also for him to compete in the AL East he may feel compelled to make that type of splash in FA.
Thos would be the viable suitors I would envision lining up for Pujols, but again I view it highly unlikely he ever leaves St.Louis.
S'paw_99
February 16th, 2011
1:39 pm
Normally, U have to assume that in a pure bidding war the winner is the freakin Bankees (evil empire). The other main culprits would be Bos, or Philly.
BUT None of those teams need a 1B. Bos has A. Gonzalez & Youk (playin 3B now).
The Bankees have Tex, & eventually ARod will be the DH, & Tex & Pujols won’t be happy splitting time.
The Phillies have Howard, although U never know, they might try to get Pujols & dump (trade) Howard.
Everyone has mentioned the Cubs as potential suitors, but I think another dark horse would have to be the Mets. They’ve been big spenders recently & need a 1B, but w/ until their ownership gets settled I can’t see them spending much more.
Bryan
February 16th, 2011
1:41 pm
Well if I were Liberty I would at least consider it. I think I heard a few years ago that when Liberty took over, it was only going to be for a few years then they would try to re-sell the team at a profit. If you think about it financially, if they bump our payroll to say $115-$125 million range, we might be able to go for Pujols. You would hope for a bigger increase, but still. They would have to ask themselves, is a team with Heyward,Prado, Pujols, etc. worth more to a potential buyer than a team anchored by just Heyward.
Don’t forget, when Teheran comes up next year Atlanta will be one of the most exciting teams in baseball to watch. Add Pujols to that mix and we could be a team that makes the playoffs every year for about 5 years.
Coop
February 16th, 2011
1:52 pm
They should, they won’t, and therin is the problem. Other than catching lightning in a bottle every once in a while, this team has no chance to win it all again. Simply can’t afford it.
kurula
February 16th, 2011
2:06 pm
i think the real contenders for pujols would have to the marlins, the pirates and the royals. the marlins and pirates can spend 30 million a year on pujols and their entire payroll will only be 40 million. the royals would have a similar situation AND be close to his current home. who else can afford him that actually needs a first baseman?
JSS
February 16th, 2011
2:07 pm
“I think another dark horse would have to be the Mets. They’ve been big spenders”
The Mets ownership lost more than 1/3rd of their net wealth in Madoof ponzi scheme. They will not be a player in the Pujois pursuit…
Call it what u want.....
February 16th, 2011
2:07 pm
Albert will play for us when he’s 38 and signed by Frank Wren after coming off ‘tough year’. Frank will remind us that he is a .300 hitter. (He won’t remind us which year)
Stephen
February 16th, 2011
2:13 pm
getting Pujols would allow the Braves to realistically compete against the Phillies. Oh well…….
NOTSO FAST
February 16th, 2011
2:38 pm
The problem with trying to get a great player is you are paying for what he has done more than what he might do in the future. When you give 10 year contracts to players that are 31 or 32 then you take a chance of over paying in the latter years. But wouldn’t it be fun for a while.
ATLSN
February 16th, 2011
2:41 pm
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Yea right.............
February 16th, 2011
3:02 pm
Any team that pays a player 28 million per year is not a MLB club and should not be able to compete with MLB period. This is and has gotten way out of hand and I dont care what club you are. You have one team that goes after every great player and then what?
Its players like CC that will walk out on his 92 million 4 years left deal that puts a really bad taste in my mouth for the game as it is now a days. These players make me totally sick and I dont go watch when they are in town. If enough fans say enough and stop supporting these total head cases maybe the game will change. Highly doubt it but like you say, ONE CAN DREAM.
FalconDawg
February 16th, 2011
3:05 pm
I just don’t get it. All of you just keep saying we cant afford him, nobody worth that money, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH!!! You are the same people who complain when we don’t make the playoffs and say the braves are afraid to pay anyone. Y’all are afraid of championship!!!! He would make us the most powerful team in the MLB. Don’t be afraid to be the best in the present because your afraid we won’t be as good in the future, UNLESS you all are content with the mediocre 90 wins every single year, which seems to be the case.
JSS
February 16th, 2011
3:10 pm
Yea right………….
February 16th, 2011
3:02 pm
“Its players like CC that will walk out on his 92 million 4 years left deal that puts a really bad taste in my mouth for the game as it is now a days. ”
You mean like the owners who “walked out” on a agreement where they were receiving $9 Billion in profits? You are insane!
Oh by the way, what contract did Sabathia ever walk out on?
Mitchell
February 16th, 2011
3:18 pm
The Braves have to win the World Series. That’s all there is to it.
There’s too much talent and potential and it’s not likely to last as long as the streak of division titles. But if it can yield just one or, God willing (and rarely has He ever when it comes to the Braves), two World Series titles in the next two or three years it would be far more meaningful and substantive than just living up to the bare minimum of yearly expectations.
Or how about just getting to the World Series? I mean, it’s not like we’re the best team in baseball like we were for about a solid ten year period. If you’re the underdog and you lose, then hey, it was a major accomplishment just to get there.
I mean, can we just win uh playoff series? How about a home playoff game?
Can we make that happen?
Give us something. We’ve been through enough. So what if there’s only 18,000 at the Ted for a crucial late September game. Give us a reason to really believe.
We don’t need Albert Pujols to make it happen.
Good God am I ready for Opening Day.
Gotta take it to the next level this year.
Fab Five Fredi G.
February 16th, 2011
3:33 pm
Can we put an end to all the senseless anticipation about Chipper and his many soon to be ailing parts. I wonder if Vegas will take bets as to which part fails on Chipper first. I wish he would make things a lot easier on the team, just go ahead and get banged up now versus later in the season when the Braves cannot find a decent LF or IF player to fill the gap that was created by foolishly expecting old and busted to do anything differently.
LawDawg
February 16th, 2011
4:06 pm
He’s twice the player Uggla is (easily) for less than twice the money.
LawDawg
February 16th, 2011
4:07 pm
I think this is Chipper’s last year. That gives about $26 million to spend after this year.
Ben
February 16th, 2011
4:08 pm
That would be a huge mistake. Uggla wasn’t the best choice but it was ok. If the Braves were to get Pujols that would make us a contender for about a year and then we would suck for a long time because we would have no money for anyone else due to the fact that we’d be giving a player on the downturn way too much money for something we can get out of someone else. The rumour is he’s older than he really is (similar to a Miguel Tejada situation) So really we would be blowing money on a soon-to-be “has been.”
Jay Stone
February 16th, 2011
4:40 pm
This is going to be really interesting, and Pujols may have overplayed his hand. As someone mentioned, Teixeira is signed to a long-term deal (through 2016), and the Red Sox just got Adrian Gonzalez. Remove the two of them from the market for Pujols’ services, and who’s left? I’m sure a couple of teams that might come up with what he’s already turned down with the Cardinals plus a buck or three. He should have taken the eight at $25m. 10 Years? It’s tough to imagine he’s going to last that much longer, and every MLB executive knows it.
mn
February 16th, 2011
4:42 pm
go for him
Nahila
February 16th, 2011
4:48 pm
Not on your life is Pujois worth what he thinks he’s worth, not even half of that. These salaries are getting out of hand and with everyone having to suck it up for the next few years to come, these spoiled ball players need to do the same.