2012 MLB Free Agents: Marlins Offer Pujols Nine-Year Deal
A day after it was reported that the Miami Marlins had a concrete offer on the table for top free agent shortstop Jose Reyes, rumors are spreading that the club has also extended a contract to Albert Pujols. While the monetary value of the Marlins’ offer to Pujols is unknown, Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports is reporting that the length of the contract is nine years.
If it is for nine years, the Marlins offer would fall in line with the one St. Louis extended to Pujols before the 2011 season. At that point, it was reported that the Cardinals’ offer was for $210 million over the nine years, breaking down to roughly $23.3 million annually.
But last night, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com shared that someone familiar with the negotiations says St. Louis’s offer never topped the $200 million mark. Either way, whatever the deal was worth it wasn’t enough for Pujols and his agent, Dan Lozano. As the season was set to begin, Lozano advised Pujols to hold off talks until this winter.
In the meantime, several interested things happened. Pujols, by his standards, had a down year. Still, he and the Cardinals got hot at the right time, resulting in another World Series title. Following said Fall Classic victory, long-time manager Tony La Russa decided to call it a career.
Earlier this week, word came out that the Cardinals do not plan to greatly increase their offer for Pujols. It makes sense that St. Louis wouldn’t want to bid against itself before other potential suitors extended offers of their own. But, now that the Marlins have thrown their hat in the ring, and with word that the Cardinals original offer was lower than many thought, St. Louis may have to reevaluate its current stance regarding the future Hall of Famer.
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You can check out all of the available free agents by position below.