DALLAS - In a stunning development, Albert Pujols has spurned the St. Louis Cardinals and signed a 10-year, $254 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels.
The Pujols news rocked the winter meetings just as the Rule 5 draft was about to begin Thursday morning.
According to sources, Pujols' agent, Dan Lozano, was engaged in intense negotiations with both the Cardinals and the Angels into the wee small hours Wednesday night. But the Cardinals ultimately were trumped when they reportedly would not go beyond a deal worth around $215 million with deferred money and a non-guaranteed 10th year.
For the Angels, winning the Pujols sweepstakes marks the first time their owner, Arte Moreno, has emerged victorious in this sort of high-profile, high-stakes signing. Moreno, in the past, had a reputation for bidding just so far and then losing out.
In that repect, Moreno followed up the Pujols signing by bagging lefty C.J. Wilson, regarded as the premier free-agent pitcher on the market for 5 years, $77.5 million.
In Pujols, Moreno gets the premier player in baseball, a three-time National League MVP who was an icon in St. Louis, leading the Cardinals to the World Series championship this year. In addition to his performance on the field, Pujols was involved in major charity work in St. Louis and most baseball people, especially the Cardinals, never expected him to leave.
That was the case all week when the Miami Marlins made a big splash by offering Pujols a 10-year contract for around $200-$220 million and then dropped out of the bidding on Tuesday.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/albert-pujols-spurns-cardinals-signs-10-year-250m-deal-los-angeles-angels-article-1.988568#ixzz1fyhR75m2
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