Albert Pujols is coming home.
Late last night, the future Hall-of-Famer and three-time NL MVP signed a deal to return to his former team, the St. Louis Cardinals.
The contract is a one-year deal worth $2.5 million.
According to Katie Woo, the Cardinals’ beat reporter for The Athletic, there were four other clubs in on the former MVP, but Pujols wanted to come back to St. Louis, and thus, he chose the Cardinals.
“The Machine”, as he is often times known, played the first 11 seasons of his storied career in St. Louis, hitting for a .328 average and blasting 445 home runs while playing a key role in their 2006 and 2011 World Series championship clubs.
Per a source, Albert Pujols had interest from at least four other clubs, but he wanted to come back to St. Louis. @BNightengale, @Feinsand have Pujols' contract terms at one-year, $2.5 MM. #STLCards
— Katie Woo (@katiejwoo) March 28, 2022
Welcome Home, Albert
This is a great story for baseball.
Pujols left St. Louis after the 2011 season and played parts of 10 seasons with the Los Angeles Angels, before he was released and subsequently picked up by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
But the future Hall-of-Famer and fan-favorite in St. Louis is officially coming home, back to where it all started, and he’ll reunite with Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina, with a chance for all three stars to ride off into the sunset together at the end of the 2022 season.
The 42-year-old slugger figures to serve as a DH option, specifically against left-handed pitching.
Though he is far from the player he once was, Pujols still terrorizes left-handed pitching and will create a solid platoon with new signing Corey Dickerson, who likely will DH against right-handed pitchers.
The Cardinals bench appears pretty well set with Pujols, Dickerson, Lars Nootbaar, Edmundo Sosa, and Andrew Knizner.
Pujols returning to St. Louis almost seems like a formality given the addition of the universal DH, but it’s good to see him reunite with Wainwright and Molina for one last ride.
NEXT: Cardinals Continue To Employ Jack Flaherty For A Low Price