Back to where it all started: Albert Pujols agrees to one-year Cardinals deal

Albert Pujols goes again to the place he launched his Corridor of Fame-caliber profession in 2001 — the St. Louis Cardinals.

The previous Angels and Dodgers slugger, 42, has agreed to a one-year, $2.5-million cope with the Cardinals, pending a bodily, based on an individual conversant in the deal who can’t converse publicly about it.

Pujols, who starred for 11 seasons with St. Louis, struggled by means of nine-plus damage marred seasons with the Angels and completed out 2021 as a key reserve for the Dodgers. He has clubbed 679 homers to rank fifth on baseball’s all-time checklist behind Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth and Alex Rodriguez.

The burly first baseman and designated hitter is among the many high 10 in a number of different offensive classes, rating third in RBIs (2,150), fourth in extra-base hits (1,367), fourth in complete bases (6,042) and fifth in doubles (672), filling out a resume that’s anticipated to earn him first-ballot entry into baseball’s Corridor of Fame.

Pujols established himself as probably the most feared right-handed hitter within the sport throughout his time with the Cardinals. He hit .328 with 445 homers, 2,073 hits, 455 doubles, 1,329 RBIs and a 1.037 on-base-plus-slugging proportion with St. Louis, main the Cardinals to World Collection titles in 2006 and 2011. He additionally received two Gold Glove Awards with St. Louis.

The Cardinals are a a lot totally different workforce than the one Pujols left greater than a decade in the past, however there are a few acquainted faces on the roster. Yadier Molina, the Cardinals catcher since 2004, and pitcher Adam Wainwright, who’s beginning his seventeenth season in St. Louis, performed with Pujols throughout his first run with the workforce.

After his eight-year, $111-million contract with the Cardinals expired, Pujols surprised the baseball world by signing a 10-year, $240-million cope with the Angels on the winter conferences in December 2011.

Although Pujols notched his 3,000th hit and five hundredth and 600th homers as an Angel, his tenure in Anaheim was a disappointment, marked by a dramatic drop in manufacturing, a sequence of lower-body accidents, one meager postseason look in 2014 and nil playoff wins.

Pujols hit .256 with a .758 OPS, 222 homers and 783 RBIs in 1,181 video games with the Angels and was designated for project — after which launched — final Might after hitting .198 with a .622 OPS, 5 homers and 12 RBIs in his first 24 video games of the 2021 season.

The Dodgers, their roster depleted by accidents and their bench in want of a right-handed bat, signed Pujols on Might 15, believing he might increase their probabilities of repeating as World Collection champions.

Pujols hit .254 with a .759 OPS, 12 homers and 38 RBIs in 85 video games for the Dodgers, together with a .303 common, .953 OPS, 10 homers and 28 RBIs in opposition to left-handed pitchers and a .378 common with two homers and 10 RBIs as a pinch-hitter.

He had 5 hits in 17 playoff at-bats however fell quick in his bid for an additional championship ring, the Dodgers dropping to the Atlanta Braves in a six-game NL Championship Collection.