Seattle Mariners: Is Albert Pujols an option for the M’s?
Thursday, the Los Angeles Angeles of Anaheim cut ties with first baseman/ designated hitter Albert Pujols. Is he an option for the Seattle Mariners?
With one year left on his 10-year, $254M contract, the Angels designated Hall-of-Famer to be Albert Pujols for assignment. He’s been with LAA for nine seasons but never reached the heights he did in the previous ten for St. Louis.
Drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1999 (13th round), Pujols was a star in his lone minor league season. Allegedly, in 2001, All-Star slugger Mark McGwire told manager Cardinals Tony La Russa (now the manager of the White Sox) that if he didn’t promote Pujols, it would be the worst mistake he in his career.
Whether that’s true or not doesn’t matter. Pujols made the opening day roster as a third baseman. He went on to unanimously win the National League Rookie of the Year. Pujols went on to win three N.L. MVPs, six Siver Sluggers, and a pair of Gloves. Additionally, he won two World Series (2006, 2011) during his ten seasons in St. Louis. After the 2011 season, he took the money and left for Los Angeles.
Pujols had many career milestones in an Angels uniform, such as hitting his 500th and 600th home runs and reaching 3,000 career hits. Unfortunately, the Halos only made the playoffs once over nine seasons with him on the roster.
Over the first six weeks of the 2021 season, Pujols had a .198 batting average and .622 OPS. The Angels saw enough to believe they should go in another direction, so they designated him for reassignment.
Seattle?
The future Hall-of-Famer still has some life to give. He’s been a notoriously slow starter with his bat during his career with the Angels. There has been lots of chatter on social media about bringing the 41-year-old slugger to the Seattle Mariners.
Even though he’s hitting .198, his average is still better than what the M’s have now. Combined, Mariners first basemen are hitting a robust .149. Evan White has a .141 average, and Jose Marmolejos is hitting .155.
Pujols also has some pop left. His five home runs so would put him second on the Mariners and are two more than all their current first basemen.
While adding Pujols sounds fun in theory, Seattle is already struggling with the bats they have. Adding another struggling bat seems counter-intuitive. In addition, the Mariners are in the midst of a youth movement, which doesn’t leave room on the roster for swan songs.
If not Seattle, then where?
At this point in his career, an American League team is the best fit for Pujols. Playing out his days at first base is still an option. The Angels opted to use Shohei Ohtani at DH and Pujols at first base throughout much of the early season.
If Cleveland is to make a serious run at the post-season in an upside-down American League Central, then they will need to add a bat to play first base that has some pop. They currently rank near the bottom in several first baseman offensive categories, including average (.189) and home runs (0).
Then there are the New York Yankees. They are batting .159 and took a chance on former Texas Rangers pugilist Rougned Odor to fill in until Luke Voit returns from injury. Although somewhat popular in the Bronx, his bat hasn’t made anything better at all. Besides, Odor is now on the IL with a sprained knee.
The Reds seem like a great landing spot for Pujols, at least until Joey Votto is healed. Joey Votto broke his thumb and is expected to miss at least a month. When he does return, what happens to Pujols?
Will Albert Pujols Retire?
Retirement is an option for Pujols. It would be nice for the Cardinals to sign him to a one-day contract and let him retire as a Cardinal. That’s where all of this started.
I grew up while Ken Griffey Jr.was just starting his career. Traveling a lot as a young adult, I learned that Griffey was idolized by many fans and recognized as their favorite player. It wasn’t about the Mariners; it was about the players. When Griffey left for Cincinnati, he didn’t accomplish nearly what he had with Seattle. Junior and Pujols had similar enough careers to be a decent comparison.
Pujols will be a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer. He will garner nearly 100% of the writer’s votes. Whatever he does next will not tarnish that in any possible way. He has been an amazing baseball player and has played the game with dignity, integrity, and class.
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Do you think the Seattle Mariners should take a flier on Albert Pujols? Let us know in the comments section below or on social media.