Comments on: Is Toronto a Viable Option for Albert Pujols?

By: Rick V

Rick V — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 13:55:35 +0000

I would definetly make the move for Pujols!! Give up anything but our starting rotation and id be happy.
It would suck to lose a few up and coming prospects but id have ZERO problems moving Hill, Lind, E5 and Rivera. ID hope wed keep atleast drabs from the pitching pool and as long as we held onto Morrow, Cecil and Romero I think the rest arent that great with all their injury problems.

Id buy a Pujols jersey for sure!!!

By: Gribble

Gribble — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 02:30:42 +0000

It seems the Jays are unlikely to come to a deal with Bautista, I can’t imagine they would have an easy time coming to a deal with Pujols.

By: earlweaverfan

earlweaverfan — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 21:36:36 +0000

So, Mat, great speculation, and while there is real doubt that Pujols will not be re-signed, even more doubt that he would include Toronto in his list of desirable places to go, and even more doubt that AA would do this deal in 2011, it is very intriguing how you show that the Jays are one of the few teams for whom Pujols makes real sense. Even better, that they are part of an even smaller group that have the bucks to do it, if they want to.

What I don’t get from your article is why Pujols would agree to be traded to any team on the Halliday terms, i.e., where that team would only strike the deal if he signed with them as a condition of his agreeing to go there.

Without such a pre-signing, the Jays are not going to hand over several valuable players to the Cards on the hope that they could possibly re-sign AP past 2011.

But why would Pujols agree to such an arrangement? If he just hangs on till the end of the year, he can put himself on the open market, make multiple teams bid against each other, and possibly even do better than $300 MM. If the market then proves weaker than he thinks now, he could still re-sign with St. Louis on the current terms.

Halliday was different, as he was especially keen to go to Philly and so was Gonzalez to go to Boston. Both were willing to put location above income-maximization.

Meanwhile, if, as I believe, Anthopoulos is unlikely to be fully convinced that he just has to have Pujols, whatever the cost, why doesn’t he just wait until the FA market next fall, and then only have to do business with Pujols? He would just have to send the Cards one measly draft pick. If he has to pony up $300MM, why would he then want to weaken the very system that Pujols could help push over the top?

Only if AA thinks that Pujols will want to avoid testing the market next fall does AA have to worry that some other team could pre-empt his chance to bid. That is the least likely outcome, to me.

By: D12: CC Sabathia dropped 30 pounds this offseason (Yahoo! Sports) « Top Sports Hub

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 20:11:49 +0000

[...] 10. Hey, why not? Could Albert Pujols(notes) land with the Toronto Blue Jays? Jays Journal [...]

By: George

George — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 19:27:52 +0000

If we could get Pujols for 2-3 prospects, I would say go for it, but as you said, Matt, he is a Once in a Generation player. Remember that in return for Doc, we got 3 of Phillies’ top 10 prospects. I’m pretty sure that The Cards would want a starting pitcher, plus someone like Lind or EE, plus a couple of top 10 prospects, and a couple of top 50 prospects.

By: Bluebird Links – Pujols Speculation & Postseason Play Importance – Toronto Update

Tue, 08 Feb 2011 03:21:10 +0000

[...] Is Toronto a Viable Option for Albert Pujols? In the realm of incredibly pointless (but fun) speculation, Mat Germain wonders if Pujols could become a Jay since contract talks between him and the Cards aren’t going well. Just imagine Pujols hitting in home-run friendly SkyDome…there’s a minuscule chance of this but I can’t even describe how much I want this to happen (especially when compared to the alternate signing of Prince Fielder). Seriously, I will dream of this everyday until Pujols signs with the Cardinals, or until he his dealt or signs somewhere else. [...]

By: Mat Germain

Mat Germain — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 17:10:10 +0000

Entirely agree with you George, and that’s why we all love AA. He has brought in so many high caliber prospects within the last year that the loss of 2 or 3 won’t hinder the Jays chances of competing at the highest level.

As much as I love all of our prospects, none could ever project to hit like Pujols. He’s a once in a generation kind of guy!

By: George

George — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 16:36:43 +0000

I have a few words: Frank Thomas, AJ Burnett, BJ Ryan – all examples of what can happen when you sign free agents without a strong homegrown core to back them up. Albert’s numbers peaked in 2008, and there is no reason to think that they will not continue to move downward, as will his value, even if he doesn’t break a leg. The value of anybody we would trade for him (5-6 top level pieces) will continue to grow over the next few years. Doesn’t it make sense to wait until Hechevarria, Lawrie, Marisnick, etc. start to make an impact in the majors, then grab what you need with players that will be worth more in 2014 than they are now? IMHO, I would rather see AA7 spend the money signing well scouted, top quality draft picks at this point than spending it on major league salary that will not help them to win a World Series any sooner.

By: Gribble

Gribble — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 15:03:47 +0000

There is no doubt that dropping Pujols into the Jays lineup would have a huge impact, even well into his 30′s. His ability to get on base alone in front of Bautista would be large.

The question is…the only question is…how much is Rogers prepared to spend right now to build the team around Albert as quickly as possible? I don’t think they are interested in paying him $60-$90M if it’s going to take another two to three years to build up the team to be good enough.

It’s also a question of diminishing returns. As good as Albert is…does it make more sense to wait for a better fit contract wise? I mean can you get the same or better impact from acquiring two $15M players who can defend/pitch and have shorter contract commitments? Albert’s star power is unquestionable but the St. Louis lineup and rotation wasn’t exactly chopped liver and they still only won one more game than the Jays in a much easier division.

It’s fun to dream, but at this point and time it just seems impractical. If the Jays said Albert is more of a marketing move and we’re prepared to live with it if his contract doesn’t result in post-season for a two or three more years then great. We saw what the A-Rod contract did to the Rangers and he was much younger and playing the infield. The Yankees really ended up being the only team that could sustain him. The Jays right now seem much closer to the Rangers than the Yankees financially.

By: Mat Germain

Mat Germain — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 12:13:40 +0000

Thanks for the comments as always George, and I think many people make valid points about reasons to not go after Albert. But, I’d like to point out a few things about your comments.

First, Albert is not Vernon. He’s Vernon X 10. He can carry an entire lineup and make team entire team better just by scribbling his name in it. In the AL, he would drive in over 150 RBI each season, in Toronto he would be a lock for 40+ HRs, and his AVG/OBP/OPS will continue to be off-the-charts through at least 36 years old.

Let me put it to you this way: rewind to before the Jays dealt Vernon, would you trade him to St-Louis for Albert and pay an extra $9 million in 2011, and $7 million in 2012, 2013, 2014? Because that’s essentially what it would cost the Jays in terms of differences in salary. Now, if they got him in trade, he may also cost a few players, but for someone of his caliber, it’s well worth it.

Last, I don’t care if he catches or is a DH, Albert in the lineup brings the Jays to the level of – or even above – the level of the Yankees and Red Sox lineup within 2 years. With Travis Snider hitting his stride, Brett Lawrie, Aaron Hill, Jose Bautista and Albert on board through 2014, the Jays would have a spectacular lineup. Add in youngsters like Anthony Gose and J.P. Arencibia, and Albert becomes the anchor to the best lineup in MLB.

Can you say the same without him on board? No. And that’s my argument in a nutshell.