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IGNORED

Albert Pujols' swan song


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10 minutes ago, Second Base said:

I think this idea the year Pujols hangs them up. Ohtani is coming back in May and the team won't be playing Albert over one of the best hitters in baseball at age 24. So that leaves 1B and he's battling Bour for AB's there and at this stage of their careers, Bour gets on base more and can drive the ball better. Not to mention Thaiss and Walsh down in AAA who both will be major league ready sooner rather than later. 

He's being shown the door through competition. I think right around June, after being relegated fo platoon or bench duty, he'll decide it's time to start saying goodbye to playing the game he loves and instead moving into a front office role.  But it was one heck of a ride, wasn't it?

I still remember when he broke in, he was stronger and hit the ball so much harder than anyone else. Immediately, the best hitter in baseball became a race between Vlad and Pujols.

Should the Angels release him or should Pujols retire?

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7 minutes ago, Troll Daddy said:

That’s a lot to pay for dignity don’t you think? I wouldn’t mind the money going to a charity of Albert’s choosing. 

Everybody wins!

he's a HOFer, and how he plays now is not how he's always played. he's a great player who deserves recognition and better treatment because of what he's accomplished.

they should not arod him.

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2 minutes ago, Tank said:

he's a HOFer, and how he plays now is not how he's always played. he's a great player who deserves recognition and better treatment because of what he's accomplished.

they should not arod him.

I agree with you somewhat  ... so you believe the Angels are not giving him the recognition and treatment he deserves by releasing him? 

All I’m saying is that something can be negotiated so both parties don’t get punished. 

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3 hours ago, Troll Daddy said:

I agree with you somewhat  ... so you believe the Angels are not giving him the recognition and treatment he deserves by releasing him? 

All I’m saying is that something can be negotiated so both parties don’t get punished. 

Not sure how you extrapolated that. They’ve treated him very well here.

what I’m saying is that the angels won’t just dump him like the Yankees did to arod. Pujols is highly regarded by the franchise and all of baseball, and when his time is over, it’ll be handled professionally and respectfully.

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I’d be shocked if Pujols retires. Only two possibilities I see that approximate that and aren’t completely far-fetched: 1) They negotiate a buy-out as an effective retirement - probably with money deferred over the final years of the contract; 2) He ends up on the IL permanently - again, effectively retirement, but not officially.

Having said that, I’m not convinced he doesn’t become the 26th roster spot next season and become the DPH with maybe an occasional start at DH. 

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13 hours ago, Tank said:

he's a HOFer, and how he plays now is not how he's always played. he's a great player who deserves recognition and better treatment because of what he's accomplished.

they should not arod him.

What did the Yankees do to ARod? They found a way to give him every penny he was owed while taking him off the roster and calling it something other than a “release” when in fact it was a release. Seems like a fair way to go. 

As far as I can tell, there are 5 ways Pujols could stop taking up a roster spot prior to the end of his deal.

1. He retires. It has to be totally his decision. He gives up the remaining money. (Gil Meche is the only guy I can think of who did this.)

2. He is released. This would be against his will, and the Angels would still have to pay him every penny. (Carl Crawford.)

3. They agree to a “buyout.” This is the most likely hybrid scenario. He’s basically agreeing to be released, and in exchange the Angels would agree to pay him all his money, but perhaps on a different schedule. (ARod)

4. He has some medical issue that makes him incapable of playing. I don’t know if they have insurance on him, so it may not save them any money, but it would be less embarrassing to Pujols than being released. (Prince Fielder)

5. Technically possible but hard to imagine... he could be traded. To the Cardinals I suppose. After there’s a DH in the NL? Maybe the Royals? Obviously the Angels would still be paying most of his salary. (Josh Hamilton)

Off the top of my head, I say there’s a 40 percent chance he finishes his contract, a 45 percent chance of 3, a 10 percent chance of 1 and a 5 percent chance of 4. 

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That is why a scenario of a agreed buy-out (announced as a retirement) would be the only route to remove him from the roster and him still retaining his pride. The money on the personal services contract is chicken feed and wouldn't be a factor. 

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1 hour ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

What did the Yankees do to ARod? They found a way to give him every penny he was owed while taking him off the roster and calling it something other than a “release” when in fact it was a release. Seems like a fair way to go. 

maybe you were able to hear more information about how arod was released than we were. from our end as fans, it seemed like arod was very suspiciously released with a cloud of mystery surrounding him. i could be wrong, but that's how it came across to many here, myself included. i don't want to see something like that happen to pujols. he's been a clean player (arod was not).

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6 minutes ago, Tank said:

maybe you were able to hear more information about how arod was released than we were. from our end as fans, it seemed like arod was very suspiciously released with a cloud of mystery surrounding him. i could be wrong, but that's how it came across to many here, myself included. i don't want to see something like that happen to pujols. he's been a clean player (arod was not).

That’s not how I remember it. I just remember him being not good enough to be on the roster so they came to an agreement to take him off. 

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Just spread out the remaining $59 million after 2019 over the 10 years personal services contract period, and he stops playing after 2019.   This is the perfect year to go out, including a trip back to St.L. during the season.

The $24 million/season in 2020 and 2021 still counts against the tax threshold, but at least instead of physically paying him $29.5 million/season for 2020-2021, they spread it out to around $7 million/season (including interest) from 2020-2029.

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4 hours ago, Blarg said:

That is why a scenario of a agreed buy-out (announced as a retirement) would be the only route to remove him from the roster and him still retaining his pride. The money on the personal services contract is chicken feed and wouldn't be a factor. 

How much is that personal services deal worth? I thought it was 10 mill for 10 years? Or am i remembering it wrong?

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4 hours ago, Angel Oracle said:

Just spread out the remaining $59 million after 2019 over the 10 years personal services contract period, and he stops playing after 2019.   This is the perfect year to go out, including a trip back to St.L. during the season.

The $24 million/season in 2020 and 2021 still counts against the tax threshold, but at least instead of physically paying him $29.5 million/season for 2020-2021, they spread it out to around $7 million/season (including interest) from 2020-2029.

But is it, though? An extra roster spot in 20-21 suddenly makes room for Albert to be a full time bench player and pinch hitter. I’m not at all convinced he’s going anywhere. 

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Albert has more pride than many, and is acutely aware of his career status and numbers. I doubt he will want to keep playing if his numbers nosedive severely and he sees himself as a detriment to the team.

Last year he was verbally defending his production by pointing out that his homers and rbi's were still respectable and he was competently doing what he was acquired to do. He strongly goes by those traditional stats, and in his mind he was still productive, even though obviously diminished. 

With some amazing career milestones ahead I can see him being extra motivated to finish out his career in a high note. The problem will be if he can accept a reduced role and maybe not get the plate appearances to reach those numbers. 

I think it's pride, not selfishness. And with a new manager and a more optimistic team environment he could very well put up fairly decent if reduced numbers. And be an important pinch hitter, dh, or platoon first baseman depending on the situation. If he can maintain his swing, timing, discipline with fewer at bats.

One day we will look back and see that he and Trout may be in the top five of historically great team mates. Too bad their primes didn't overlap. But still awesome seeing them in the same lineup realizing their career greatness.

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1 hour ago, Angel Oracle said:

Couldn't they utilize that 26th man role better than with a 40 year-old who may indeed be 42 years old?   If his OPS ends up under .700 again in 2019, that has to be it.

Could? Sure. Of course. I’m just skeptical. I *hope* they work something out by season’s end. This season probably doesn’t matter enough for it to be an issue and he’s close to an RBI milestone, so I’m indifferent at present. Also the STL trip coming this season. But 20-21? I’d love them to find a way to let him leave with dignity. I guess I’m just not especially optimistic on that front at this point.

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