New York Yankees Jacoby Ellsbury is exhibit A of why free agency changed

The Angels Pull the Trigger

The Angels, for instance, had to know they were going to pay for some compromised seasons when they signed 1B Albert Pujols.

He was 32 at the time, so even the most optimistic projections had to account for a serious decline in those last two seasons. But there was also reason to think Albert would stay Hall of Fame productive for several more years.

In his final season in St. Louis (2011) at the age of 31, Pujols slashed .299/.366/.541. The at-that-time perennial All-Star also swatted 37 home runs and 29 doubles while scoring 105 runs.

That added up to 313 total bases (TB) for Albert that year, fifth in the National League. The Angels thought it would be years before he dropped to an average player, perhaps as many as eight before he became less than.

It turns out; they didn’t have to wait that long. Not only did his numbers drop significantly in his first year in Anaheim (.285/.343/.516), but also those have proven to be his high water marks since.

For instance, last year Albert played his age 37 season. David Ortiz, as a comparison, was 37 in 2013. He hit .309/.395/.564 with 30 home runs and 38 doubles that year. I’m sure Yankees fans remember that well as much of his damage was done against them.

This is probably what Anaheim was hoping for. But last season, Pujols managed just .241/.286/.386, with 23 home runs and 17 doubles. That is a far cry from the 66 extra base hits he got in 2011.

And his 229 TB last year made him 59th in the American League.

Albert Pujols is signed through the 2021 season for an average of $28.5 million.