Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl
The St. Louis Cardinals have until the opening of spring training to sign slugger Albert Pujols.
If a deal is not done by then, then negotiations will be cut off and he will test free agency in the fall, sources told ESPN The Magazine’s Buster Olney.
General manager John Mozeliak declined Saturday to characterize negotiations.
The Cardinals exercised a $16 million option for next season on Pujols’ contract in October.
Both sides want to keep the negotiations private.
Pujols, 30, led the National League with 42 homers and 118 RBIs last season, when he topped 400 career homers and set a franchise record with his 39th multihomer game.
Although Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt expressed confidence earlier this winter that the team could keep Pujols beyond 2011, Mozeliak said: “I don’t think it’s going to benefit anybody for me to weigh in at this point.”
The Cardinals got one deal out of the way, avoiding arbitration and signing setup man Kyle McClellan to a one-year contract. Mozeliak said a long-term deal was discussed but “never gained any traction to this point.”
The 26-year-old right-hander appeared in 68 games last season, going 1-4 with a career-best 2.27 ERA and two saves.
McClellan was the only Cardinals player who filed for arbitration. He’s been durable in all three of his major league seasons with St. Louis, totaling 202 appearances.
“Obviously, avoiding the hearing room was something that we felt was very important,” Mozeliak said. “I’m pleased we were able to work this out.
“Certainly, he’s accomplished a lot over the last three years.”
Mozeliak expected McClellan to remain in his setup role next season, given the Cardinals have a set rotation of Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter, Jake Westbrook, Jaime Garcia and Kyle Lohse. St. Louis added backup options Friday, signing right-handers Miguel Batista and Ian Snell to minor league contracts with invitations to spring training.
Mozeliak said the Cardinals pursued Batista in 2007 when the pitcher signed with Seattle.
-ESPN
