Could the Rangers acquire Pujols?
By KEITH WHITMIRE
FOXSportsSouthwest.com
Turn on the Photoshop of your mind and allow yourself to picture one thing: Albert Pujols in a Texas Rangers uniform.
Preposterous? Maybe. Impossible? Not at all.
Pujols' deadline for contract negations with the St. Louis Cardinals passed quietly Wednesday. He is expected to test his value on the free agent market when his contract ends after the season.
The Rangers aren't coming up in national discussions about possible destinations for Pujols, perhaps because despite last fall's World Series trip, they still are viewed as the "same old Rangers."
But as that World Series trip proved, these aren't the same old Rangers. Under new ownership and with a new TV contract about to kick in, the Rangers can do just about anything they want to financially. The Rangers have some impressive financial backing, or else the ownership group headed by Chuck Greenberg and Nolan Ryan could not have outbid billionaire Mark Cuban for the team last summer.
The Rangers also signed a 20-year, $1.6 billion TV deal with Fox Sports Southwest last September. The money is there if the Rangers want to make a move for a player like Pujols.
Of course, to do so the Rangers would have to shatter their current salary structure and drastically alter their way of doing things. These aren't the same old Rangers, but they're not the new, crazy Rangers, either.
Remember, this is the club that nearly went to arbitration over a difference of a mere $3.3 million with American League MVP Josh Hamilton, who still will make only $12 million a year for the next two years. Adrian Beltre and Michael Young still are higher-paid.
The Rangers have a payroll of $88 million, which projects to $95.2 million once the bonuses are handed out. That still leaves the Rangers well below the highest-paying teams in Major League Baseball. The AL West rival Angels project to have a payroll of $130 million this season, while Seattle is projected to break the $100 million barrier.
The Rangers may never be in the same league as the monster payrolls of the Yankees ($200 million) and Red Sox ($160 million). But they certainly can compete with Minnesota, which has a payroll of $102 million.
Pujols reportedly is looking for a 10-year deal approaching $30 million annually. The Rangers could get him for cheaper than that this season by trading for him, then take their chances on re-signing him. It's the same method they used with Cliff Lee, although ultimately Lee chose Philadelphia.
It's doubtful the Cardinals will trade him. Despite Pujols' refusal to continue negotiations until the season is over, retaining Pujols puts them in a better position to re-sign him. Pujols also has the right to veto any trade, so it's no guarantee he'd even accept a move away from the only club he's ever known.
Even if the Rangers acquire Pujols in free agency, his additional salary would not put them over the top financially. It might preclude them from other moves, like retaining C.J. Wilson or adding another Cliff Lee-like arm for a pennant run.
It would solve a need at first base that not even the president of the Mitch Moreland Fan Club could argue with. Rangers Ballpark would swell with fans. Imagine a lineup with both Pujols and Hamilton.
It's a pipe dream, of course. But after watching the long-suffering local franchise make the World Series last season, if anyone believes dreams can come true, it's the Rangers
Follow Keith Whitmire on Twitter: @Keith_Whitmire