St. Louis Cardinals won’t sign Albert Pujols, and they have valid reasons

The Cardinals don’t appear likely to re-sign Albert Pujols once the MLB lockout ends, despite the introduction of a universal DH.

The Cardinals have plenty of reasons not to sign Albert Pujols, the first of which is his rapid decline at the plate and in the field. While his situational hitting rebounded in his time with the Los Angeles Dodgers, signing Pujols as a permanent DH would be more nostalgic than anything else.

St. Louis prefers their DH to have some sort of defensive flexibility as well, in hopes of rotating them into the field every once in awhile to give an everyday defender a day off.

Albert doesn’t offer that at this point in his career, and if he’s going to sign on anywhere, it well be a team that offers him the ability to be a bat off the bench, or a permanent DH. Per FanSided MLB insider Robert Murray, “signing Pujols isn’t impossible, but the chances are so minimal that it can almost entirely be ruled out.”

St. Louis Cardinals: Albert Pujols reunion unlikely

FanSided’s Miranda Remaklus identified several in-house options the Cardinals could use as a permanent DH, including Juan Yepez and Lars Nootbaar. Both are more capable in the field than Pujols.

"“It would be great to see Pujols return to St. Louis where he had so much early success. However, it would be shocking to see Mozeliak take the chance on bringing him back though. Pujols would be great in situations. But, he wouldn’t be a long-term solution. He would be a unique draw to the stadium. A good influence in the clubhouse. Good for the kids. But it would more than likely hold back a player like Yepez or Nootbaar.”"

This is also why the Cardinals are rumored to be interested in Colin Moran, who brings some flexibility to first base over from the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Some combination of Moran, Nootbar and/or Yepez is a better option than Pujols, despite the fan appreciate and attendance numbers he’d surely help draw.