The St. Louis Cardinals may not be able to wait to extend Albert Pujols’ contract.
According to ESPN.com, the Cardinals have until opening day of spring training to finalize a contract extension for the All-Star first baseman.
Derrick Gold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Pujol’s agent informed Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak of the upcoming deadline.
The 30-year-old Pujols is entering the final year of his 8-year, $111 million contract and should be expecting a contract similar or greater than Alex Rodriguez’s 10-year, $275 million.
If anyone deserves such a ludicrous contract, it may be Pujols. Many regard Pujols as the best player in the game, including teammate Chris Carpenter.
"Obviously, Albert is the face of this organization and the face of this city," Carpenter told ESPN.com "He's the best player in baseball. You're talking about huge dollars and huge commitments."
Last season, Pujols had a .312 batting average, 42 home runs and 118 RBIs. Over his career, he has a .331 batting average, 408 home runs and 1,230 RBIs.
In support of his absurd statistics, he’s won three Most Valuable Player awards, two Gold Gloves, six Silver Sluggers and a World Series.
Similar to how the Minnesota Twins handled Joe Mauer before his contract season, the Cardinals will try to lock up Pujols in the next month.
