Pujols, 42, spent the first 11 years of his career with the Cardinals, playing at an undiscovered level and establishing himself as a future Hall of Famer. During that time, he made 445 home runs and scored an incredible 0.328 / .420 / .617 for a wRC + 167. It was a key reason why the club was a constant competitor at the time, making the postseason in 7 of those 11 season and won the World Series in 2006 and 2011. Based on this eerie success series, he signed a ten-year, $ 254 million deal with the Angels, covering the 2012-2021 season. The Pujols continued to reach levels above the league average for the first five years of this deal, albeit a few steps below what they did as Cardinal. From there, things got worse, as he hit just 0.242 / .291 / .406 from 2017 to 2020, producing a wRC + of just 84. After 24 games last year, with just a few months left on his contract, the Angels set him free. . Surprisingly, he was captured by the Dodgers, who planned to limit the veteran slugger to a bench / squad role, mainly facing leftists. The strategy worked quite well, as the Pujols hit 0.254 / .299 / .460 as Dodger, a wRC + 101. An earlier report by The Athletic’s Katie Woo said the club were interested in bringing the Pujols back for a reunion, but in a similar role to the one they had with the Dodgers last year. Now that the National League will have the designated player this year, it will be easier for the club to apply the Pujols this way, as it is used as a pinch or DH socket, trying to limit its exposure to the right. Woo noted that the club traditionally avoids squad strategies in the past, but that new coach Oliver Marmol plans to change that. Paul Goldschmidt is firmly established as the club’s regular first key player, meaning the Pujols will be in the mix for DH / pinch duties alongside Corey Dickerson, Lars Nootbaar and Juan Yepez. For Yepez, he seemed ready to make the team after a terrible year as a minor. Between Double-A and Triple-A last year, it hit 0.286 / .383 / .586, for a wRC + 154. Then there is Nolan Gorman, who also switched between Double-A and Triple-A last year, hitting 0.279 /.333 / .481, wRC + 115. However, Woo reports that, since Yepez is only 24 years old and Gorman is not closed until May 22, the club is considering a plan where everyone spends a little more time with the minors doing regular reps, waiting for an opportunity to open as the season progresses. While Yepez and Gorman will definitely take their chances down the line, the narrative of the moment is that one of the greatest hitters of this generation is back to where he started his career and flourished. He will also be reunited with Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright, longtime Cardinals who have been with the Pujols for their best seasons, including these two World Series championships. Derrick Goold of St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the Pujols and the Cardinals had completed a one-year deal. Katie Woo of Athletic had initially stated that there was “a growing interest” in the organization to bring him back. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported that the parties agreed on a one-year agreement worth $ 2.5 million.
