Cardinals reunite with Pujols on reported 1-year, $2.5M deal

Albert Pujols is set to finish his career where it started.

The St. Louis Cardinals are finalizing a one-year deal to bring back the future Hall of Famer for the 2022 season, sources told The Athletic's Katie Woo.

According to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, Pujols' contract is worth $2.5 million for the season.

The Cardinals reportedly won't plan to use Pujols in an everyday role. Instead, he would serve as a right-handed bench bat for St. Louis, Woo adds.

While the Cardinals don't want Pujols to interfere with the playing time of first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, new manager Oliver Marmol prefers to have platoon options available.

Pujols, who had a .939 OPS against left-handed pitching last season, could platoon at designated hitter with lefty Corey Dickerson while also offering a valuable clubhouse presence to the Cardinals.

The three-time National League MVP split the 2021 campaign between the Los Angeles Angels and Los Angeles Dodgers. He slashed a combined .236/.284/.433 with 17 home runs and 50 RBIs in 109 games.

Pujols spent the first 11 years of his historic career with the Cardinals, slashing .328/.420/.617 with 445 homers, 1,329 RBIs, and 170 OPS+ in 1,705 games. He's widely regarded as one of the best players in Cardinals history.

Speculation arose that last season would be Pujols' final in the big leagues after his wife announced on Instagram that her husband would retire. She later backtracked.

Pujols played in the Dominican Professional Baseball League this past winter, causing more speculation about his potential retirement from MLB. The slugger said he intends to play in 2022 but only for the right opportunity.