Ken Rosenthal on the blockbuster trade to end all blockbusters:
What you are about to read is pure speculation. It has not, to my knowledge, been discussed at any level. In fact, it is not even my idea.
Harold Reynolds mentioned the possibility Monday on MLB Network. My colleague, Jon Paul Morosi, informed me of it later that night. I then stole the idea from Morosi as if I were Lindsay Lohan in a jewelry store.
Albert Pujols for Mark Teixeira.
And, if that doesn’t work, Pujols for Ryan Howard.
Think it’s nuts? Think again.
Okay. I'll think again. I'll think again real hard. After the jump ...
The way Rosenthal tells the story, Pujols would consent to a trade to the Yankees because the Yankees would consent to giving him $300 million. And Mark Teixeira would consent to a trade to the Cardinals because they would give him a nice contract extension, paying significantly more than the $22.5 million he's slated to earn annually through 2016.
Aside from the obvious problem that there are a lot of moving parts in such a scenario, here's another obvious one: Teixeira is not worth more than $22.5 million. And certainly not the $27 million Rosenthal suggests it might take to get Tex to waive his no-trade clause. At this point, Teixeira is (roughly) a $20 million player, and that figure isn't going to rise as he heads into his 30s.
The same basic argument applies to Ryan Howard. If the Cardinals don't want to pay market value for Pujols, why would they overpay for Teixeira? Or Howard, whose five-year, $125 million extension kicks in next year?
The only thing worse than losing Pujols would be overreacting with some panic-stricken move.