MLB Rumors 2011: Albert Pujols Contract Talks Continue Quietly

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MLB Rumors 2011: Winter Meetings Begin, Albert Pujols's Agent In Attendance

The 2011 Winter Meetings are this week. Storylines: The St. Louis Cardinals attempt to sign Albert Pujols, while Dan Lozano attempts to gin up interest in his prized free agent.

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St. Louis Cardinals Hot Stove 2011: Cards Interested In Alex Gonzalez, According To Reports

Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman reported on Thursday afternoon that the St. Louis Cardinals are pursuing free agent infielder Alex Gonzalez. Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal, citing his own source, later confirmed Heyman's initial report:

Source: #Brewers, #SFGiants, #STLCards "all in play" on A. Gonzalez, confirming report by @SI_JonHeyman. #MLB

St. Louis' middle infield situation is unsettled, and although the team would like to have Rafael Furcal back for another season, his price may be a problem, especially considering the potential weight of a big Albert Pujols contract. Gonzalez represents a more inexpensive solution.

Gonzalez spent the 2011 season with the Atlanta Braves, where he hit .241/.270/.372 with 16 home runs and 55 RBI. The 34-year-old shortstop is a career .247/.291/.399 hitter.

Stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis for more information, and for in-depth analysis on the St. Louis Cardinals be sure to visit Viva El Birdos. Visit Baseball Nation for more news and notes around the league.

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St. Louis Cardinals Hot Stove 2011: Albert Pujols Turned Down 9-Year, $198 Million Extension Back In January

The courtship of free agent first basemen Albert Pujols has been limited thus far, but the Florida Marlins and the St. Louis Cardinals are two teams that have made confirmed offers to the mega star. Back in January, general manager John Mozeliak and the Cardinals offered Pujols a nine-year, $198 million extension, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, but obviously it was not accepted. Whether the slugger merely wants to test the free agent market and the Cardinals will be willing to revisit that offer is unknown at this point.

The Miami Marlins are the only other team known to have presented a formal offer to Pujols at this point, but it is believed to be for less than what the Cardinals have offered. The Cubs have been implicated as another interested team, but it remains to be seen whether that connection is serious or not.

As for the Cardinals, everything hangs on Pujols at this point:

Multiple agents with clients who interest the Cardinals have said in the past week that they believe the club is waiting to get resolution with Pujols before they can engage in negotiations for their players. Rafael Furcal's agent said his client is willing to wait to a point because he enjoyed playing alongside Pujols with the World Series champs. The Cardinals have remained in contact with Octavio Dotel's agent about the righthanded reliever returning to their bullpen.

via Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis for more information, and for in-depth analysis on the St. Louis Cardinals be sure to visit Viva El Birdos. Visit Baseball Nation for more news and notes around the league.

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MLB Rumors 2011: St. Louis Cardinals Considering Jimmy Rollins As Plan B?

Most people still seemingly expect Albert Pujols to return to St. Louis for the extended future, but if that doesn't happen the team could turn its attention to signing former Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Shortstop is one of the key positions that the Cardinals need to work on upgrading for the 2012 season, although Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak recently said that the team would be comfortable with using 28-year-old former first-round pick Tyler Greene there to begin next season. They're still reportedly keeping tabs on Rafael Furcal as well, as they seek ways to upgrade the roster as they try to repeat as World Series champs next season.

But if the team fails to re-sign Pujols, shortstop appears to be the one position where they can really pursue a serious upgrade. Without Pujols, it seems likely that the Cardinals would shift Lance Berkman to first base and start Allen Craig in right field, which would allow them to reallocate some of the Pujols money towards signing a premium shortstop like Rollins.

Stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis for more information, and for in-depth analysis on the St. Louis Cardinals be sure to visit Viva El Birdos. Visit Baseball Nation for more news and notes around the league.

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Albert Pujols Contract Talks Continue, Terrifyingly

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Yahoo's Passan: Pujols Interest "Surprisingly Quiet"

Some baseball insiders expected St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols to draw a contract worth around $300 million before he helped lead the Red Birds to an altogether unexpected World Series championship a month ago today. But something strange happened when the ticker tape stopped pouring down in St. Louis: the anticipated Pujols frenzy has mostly been a murmur. Yes, there was a "significant offer" made by the new look Miami Marlins very early in the process, but there's been little news on the Pujols front since.

From Yahoo's Jeff Passan:

...three executives last week suggested the number of landing spots for Pujols is frighteningly thin. A team-by-team rundown with those executives placed the St. Louis Cardinals as heavy, heavy favorites – "I’m 100 percent certain he’s going back there," one said – with … well, there’s the rub: They had trouble identifying another team Pujols seriously would consider.

In an age with heavy statistical analysis and bountiful recent examples of declining production from aging, once proud superstars, maybe it's not so surprising. If there's one takeaway here, though, it's that it looks like Albert Pujols will likely remain a Cardinal. Can these last three months get any better for baseball fans in St. Louis?

Stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis for more information, and for in-depth analysis on the St. Louis Cardinals be sure to visit Viva El Birdos. Visit Baseball Nation for more news and notes around the league.

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St. Louis Cardinals Hot Stove: Team Offers Arbitration To Edwin Jackson, But Declines On Rafael Furcal

The St. Louis Cardinals have offered salary arbitration to franchise cornerstone Albert Pujols (Type A) and starting pitcher Edwin Jackson (Type B), but have declined to make offers to Rafael Furcal (Type B) and relief pitcher Arthur Rhodes (Type B), per a Twitter report from Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The only remaining player subject to arbitration is relief pitcher Octavio Dotel, but the team is not required to offer salary arbitration to Dotel because his compensation status was adjusted downward from Type A to Type B by the league on Tuesday.

The decision to approve or decline salary arbitration does not act as a proxy for the team's interest in keeping each player in a Cardinals uniform, as MLB.com explains:

Of the four, the Cardinals retain some interest in return engagements with Dotel and Furcal, and possibly Rhodes, but Jackson isn't expected to return. The Cardinals have five starting pitchers under contract for 2012 -- Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter, Jaime Garcia, Kyle Lohse and Jake Westbrook -- and traded for Jackson with the expectation that he would depart via free agency.    

As noted by Dan Moore of SB Nation St. Louis earlier in the week, Albert Pujols is not expected to accept salary arbitration, and the site will have timely updates on any decisions made the other players and all other off-season moves as well.

For more updates and analysis on the St. Louis Cardinals, check out Viva El Birdos. Stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis for more breaking news on all matters St. Louis sports. For MLB Off-Season news make sure to visit MLB Daily Dish.

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Albert Pujols Update: Marlins Offer To Pujols Is Worth Less Than $200 Million

At this point, it's becoming pretty clear that the Miami Marlins are a very legitimate threat to pry first baseman Albert Pujols away from the St. Louis Cardinals. The team has been aggressive as it tries to improve while going into a new stadium next season. But the team's current offer to Pujols is worth less than $200 million, according to Joe Capozzi of The Palm Beach Post.

It had previously been reported that the Marlins had extended an offer worth roughly $225 million to Pujols, but it appears that those had estimated high on the actual offer. Capozzi, a Marlins beat writer, was able to confirm that the team made an offer, but his sources say that it's for less than $200 million.

FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal has reported that the Marlins offered Pujols a nine-year contract, but Capozzi couldn't deny or confirm that report.

Stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis for more information, and for in-depth analysis on the St. Louis Cardinals be sure to visit Viva El Birdos. Visit Baseball Nation for more news and notes around the league.

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Albert Pujols Update: Agent Will Meet With Cardinals This Week, Reports Say

Aside from his surprising meeting with the Miami Marlins, it's mostly been quiet on the Albert Pujols front as MLB free agency has kicked into gear. But that could begin to change, as ESPN's Jerry Crasnick is reporting that sources have indicated to him that Pujols' agent Dan Lozano is expected to meet with Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak sometime this week in Milwaukee, where baseball is holding its winter general managers' meetings. Said a vague Mozeliak:

"Dan and I have touched based with one another, but we haven't had a face-to-face (meeting) or anything of that nature," Mozeliak said Tuesday. "At some point, we will. Our goal is to try to find a way to keep Albert Pujols, and that's what we'll focus on as we move forward."

(Via ESPN)

Stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis for more information, and for in-depth analysis on the St. Louis Cardinals be sure to visit Viva El Birdos. Visit Baseball Nation for more news and notes around the league.

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Did The Miami Marlins Offer Albert Pujols $225 Million?

The new look Miami Marlins have been the talk of baseball's free agency so far this off season, having reportedly made offers to Jose Reyes, Ryan Madson, Mark Buehrle and, of course, Albert Pujols. Whether the Marlins are completely serious about significantly boosting their payroll remains to be seen, though we may have a better idea of just how badly they want to be in the race for Pujols.

According to Yahoo's Tim Brown, the Marlins offered Pujols a nine year deal. Although the terms of the deal have not been disclosed or reported, if the Marlins made a competitive offer for Pujols' services, that would put them somewhere in the area of $225 million over the lifetime of the contract, a number that would surpass the Cardinals' reported best offer. Maybe neither Pujols or the Marlins are really serious about him making a shocking move to Miami, but if this report is indeed true, they may not be messing around.

Stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis for more information, and for in-depth analysis on the St. Louis Cardinals be sure to visit Viva El Birdos. Visit Baseball Nation for more news and notes around the league.

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St. Louis Cardinals Don't Plan On Pursuing Prince Fielder

Right now, the St. Louis Cardinals are pursuing one elite hitter in Albert Pujols, but they won't be turning to the obvious alternative should that pursuit fail. According to MLB Trade Rumors, Cardinals GM John Mozeliak told reporters in Milwaukee on Tuesday that he doesn't envision the team going after Prince Fielder should they not succeed in their attempts to retain their star first baseman.

I wouldn't envision that given the composition of our club with [Matt] Holliday, [Lance] Berkman and [Allen] Craig. Our hope again would be to find a way to keep Albert, but I wouldn't see going out on the market to do something else.

There isn't really a spot in the lineup for Craig assuming that Pujols comes back, but the assumption here is that Berkman would move to first base and Craig would take his spot in right field should the icon sign elsewhere. It wouldn't certainly be a hit to the Cardinals' chances of repeating, but they should still be getting quality performance from their first baseman and corner outfielders.

Stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis for more information, and for in-depth analysis on the St. Louis Cardinals be sure to visit Viva El Birdos. Visit Baseball Nation for more news and notes around the league.

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Miami Marlins Make Substantial Offers To Albert Pujols, But 'Nothing Close'

Earlier this week, the newly christened Miami Marlins made a substantial offer to free agent All-Star first baseman Albert Pujols. The Marlins, who have made significant offers to 1B Pujols, SS Jose Reyes, and SP Mark Buehrle, look to increase their payroll this off-season and make a splash on the free agent market.

However, St. Louis Cardinals fans hoping to see Pujols in red and white again next year may have cause to hope. According to SI's Jon Heyman, none of the offers have quite yet secured Prince Albert's services:

@SI_JonHeyman: #marlins made offers to pujols, reyes and buehrle. (@Ken_Rosenthal 1st reported jose & albert). "nothing close'' to deal.

The free agent slugger had a "down" year by his standards, but still figures to enter the 2012 season as the richest or second-richest baseball player in history after hitting 37 home runs and a .299/.366/.541 slash last year -- his 11th straight season over 30 homers.

For more on this situation, check out Viva El Birdos, SB Nation's St. Louis Cardinals blog, and Fish Stripes, SB Nation's Florida Marlins blog.

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Report: Miami Marlins Make Offer To Albert Pujols

Albert Pujols was in Miami on Friday to meet with Marlins officials, and according to the Post-Dispatch's Derrick Goold, Pujols left the meeting with a "substantial offer."

Pujols spent most of the afternoon with Marlins officials and, according to a source familiar with the Marlins' thinking, left those meetings with a substantial offer.

Pujols is a free agent for the first time in his career, and Friday represented the first of what could become a number of recruiting-like visits for the first baseman. Pujols stopped in Miami for the meetingson his way home to St. Louis from the Dominican Republic, where he had been doing work with his foundation, The Pujols Family Foundation.

For more on this situation, check out Viva El Birdos, SB Nation's St. Louis Cardinals blog, and Fish Stripes, SB Nation's Florida Marlins blog.

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Albert Pujols Free Agency Update: Pujols To Meet With Miami Marlins, According To Report

The general expectation in the industry is that the odds of the Miami Marlins signing first baseman Albert Pujols are quite small, but you have to credit them for being ambitious. According to Matthew Leach of MLB.com, Pujols' contingent plans to meet with Marlins officials at some point soon, possibly as early as Saturday.

Pujols, 31, is a free agent this winter for the first time in his career. He's one of many big names that the Marlins are reportedly pursuing as they hope to attract fans to their new ballpark in downtown Miami. The team's name change goes official tomorrow, and their new stadium opens next season. The team is looking at top-level free agents such Pujols, shortstop Jose Reyes, and pitcher Mark Buehrle, as well as highly-touted Cuban center fielder Yoenis Cespedes.

The Marlins don't have a clear spot at first base given that they already have Gaby Sanchez, not to mention first-baseman-turned-left-fielder Logan Morrison, but that's a log jam they could likely figure out later if it means acquiring a historically great hitter to headline the team's first season in Miami.

For more on this situation, check out Viva El Birdos, SB Nation's St. Louis Cardinals blog, and Fish Stripes, SB Nation's Florida Marlins blog.