Albert Pujols' quarter-billion-dollar deal: 'Disaster' for the Angels?

The aging slugger shocks the baseball world by ditching the Cardinals in favor of a 10-year, $255-million contract with Los Angeles. Did the Angels overpay?

Albert Pujols, a sure bet for baseball's Hall of Fame, will be 42 by the time his 10-year, $255-million contract with the Los Angeles Angels ends in 2021.
(Image credit: Ed Szczepanski/Getty Images)

Albert Pujols, the power-hitting first baseman who led the St. Louis Cardinals to a World Series championship this fall, is headed to the Los Angeles Angels next year, leaving behind the history-steeped franchise where he became a baseball legend. The three-time National League MVP has agreed to a 10-year contract with the Angels that's worth roughly $255 million. Signing one of the greatest sluggers in baseball history may seem like a no-brainer for the middle-of-the-road franchise, but some critics think the Angels may have shot themselves in the foot by signing a 31-year-old player to such a long, expensive contract. Will the Angels big "get" turn into a liability?

This is a "terrible move" for the Angels: Ten years is far too long to be committed to an aging player, says Adam Wells at Bleacher Report. Pujols is 31 — no spring chicken in the baseball world — and is already showing signs of decline. He's "no longer head and shoulders above everyone else like he was four or five years ago." The Angels have committed to one day pay a 40-year-old $25 million a year to play what's sure to be mediocre baseball. These lengthy contracts "never work out for the team." What a "disaster."

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