Respected ESPN baseball insider Buster Olney created quite a buzz in the Phillies and Cardinals’ camps this past weekend. Olney reported his sources were telling him that the Philadelphia Phillies were having internal discussions about a blockbuster trade of Ryan Howard (1B) for Albert Pujols (1B). While Olney said the Phillies were not prepared to approach the Cardinals with the proposal, the mere thought of these internal discussions being reported has raised some eyebrows in both camps. Phillies GM Ruben Amaro was adamant that these discussions have not taken place and questioned who Olney was getting his information from. When questioned by reporters on the topic, both Pujols and Howard didn’t put much stock into the rumor and expected to stay in their respective organizations this season. According to MLBTradeRumors, Olney attempts to regain some credibility in this story in his latest blog by standing by his sources and trusting the information he was given.
Olney’s theory of the Phillies thinking behind these discussions is that the Cardinals may not be able to afford Albert Pujols when he becomes a free agent after the 2011 season, where he is expected to command a contract similar to the one Alex Rodriguez signed with the Yankees for 10-years and $275 million. So far contract talks with Pujols and the Cardinals have not progressed and with the re-signing of Matt Holliday (OF) in St. Louis, many question whether the Cardinals will be able to afford both contracts long-term. If the Cardinals feel they can’t re-sign Pujols long-term, why not put him on the trade market like the Blue Jays did with Roy Halladay (RHP), who ironically the Phillies acquired this off season. Olney feels if that were to occur, the Phillies could present the Cardinals with a good alternative in Howard, who has more HR and RBI the past four seasons than Pujols and is a St. Louis native.
After reading this report, one has to question the credibility of Olney’s sources, who seem to be dreaming of proposing a potential fantasy baseball swap. Albert Pujols quite simply is St. Louis Cardinals’ baseball right now. He is a home-grown talent and will go down with the likes of Stan Musial in the Cardinals’ organization after he retires. The Cardinals would be doing their fans a huge disservice by putting Pujols on the market as he is arguably the best hitter of his generation. The likelihood of the Cardinals not taking into account Pujols’ contract demands when negotiating with Matt Holliday is rather slim, as I doubt the Cardinals would prefer to keep Holliday (no offense Matt, your a fine hitter) over Pujols. Another interesting note about these internal discussions is that Howard currently makes more than Pujols in the 2010 and 2011 seasons and is due to become a free agent in his own right after the 2011 season. Howard is set to make $19 million in 2010 and $20 million in 2011 as opposed to Pujols salaries of $16 million in 2010 and ’11. While Howard will not cost as much long-term as Pujols, he will still command upwards of $20 million a season and if money is an issue with Pujols going on the market, wouldn’t it make sense to go younger at the position and save money instead of tying yourself down with another long-term deal north of the $100 million mark. Buster Olney is a fairly reputable source for rumors and baseball news, but I have to question him on this one. The numbers and thought process from the Cardinals point of view just don’t add up. The mutiny from Cardinals fans after a Pujols trade could be ugly and who really wants to be known as the organization that traded away Albert Pujols?
You know what i hate about fantasy baseball? When you get your war room all set up and then the internet sucks and you cant get to your draft board! Total B.S. How am i supposed to manage a team when i cant even pick my players. Im not looking for the best guys, im looking for the right ones!