With Opening Day rapidly approaching, teams around the league are starting to trim down their rosters, pitchers are trying to build up their stamina, and hitters are trying to get their cuts in preparation for the start of the season.
While all eyes are on April 7, the start of the regular season, there is still plenty of news happening around the league. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest stories of the week.
Pujols Returns Home For Final Season
After spending the first 11 years of his career in St. Louis, a career that started in 2001, it only seems fitting that future Hall-of-Famer Albert Pujols finishes his career with the Cardinals, too.
On Monday, the Cardinals announced that they had signed Pujols to a one-year, $2.5 million deal. The 42-year-old will likely serve as a designated hitter, particularly against lefties, and could occasionally spell Paul Goldschmidt at first base.
Once one of the most feared hitters in all of baseball, it is apparent that Pujols is no longer the hitter he once was. Last season, with the Angels and the Dodgers, Pujols hit a combined .236/.284/.433 with 17 home runs, 50 runs batted in, and 29 runs scored in 275 at bats.
Still, Pujols will rejoin veterans Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright in one final swansong. Pujols said at his press conference that he planned for this to be his last season before retirement, joining Molina in calling it a career after this season.
The Cardinals currently have the second-best odds of winning the NL Central at +240 and are +3500 to win the World Series.
Ketel Marte Signs Extension
Despite having the third-worst odds of winning the World Series this season (+25000), the Arizona Diamondbacks made some news on Sunday by agreeing to a five-year extension worth $76 million with Ketel Marte.
The 28-year-old Marte is one of the few stars with Arizona. Last season, he hit .318/.377/.532 with 14 home runs, 50 runs batted in, and 52 runs scored in just 340 at bats.
Marte was limited due to a hamstring injury last season, but the Diamondbacks see him as a building block as they work towards putting together a competitive club in a loaded NL West.
Longoria Out For Foreseeable Future
The San Francisco Giants announced some bad news on Monday as it was revealed that third baseman Evan Longoria will be out to start the season as he is having surgery on his right index finger to repair a ligament.
While the injury isn’t expected to keep him out for a long period of time, it is still a big bat out of the Giants’ lineup. Last season, Longoria hit .261/.351/.482 with 13 home runs, 46 runs batted in, and 45 runs scored in 253 at bats.
The Giants, after finishing with the best record in all of baseball last season, are expected to come back down to Earth a bit this year. They have just the third-best odds of winning their division at +550.
Archer To The Twins
The Minnesota Twins kept up their active offseason on Monday by signing starting pitcher Chris Archer to a one-year deal worth $3.5 million. The deal includes a mutual option for $10 million in 2023.
Archer has been dealing with a litany of injuries over the last couple of years. After not pitching at all in 2020, he was limited to just six games (five starts) last season with the Rays. In that span, he went 1-1 with a 4.66 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 19.1 innings.
While Archer’s stock has certainly plummeted in recent years, the Twins are hoping to catch lightning in a bottle with him. They have been extremely active in reshaping their roster as they have brought in Carlos Correa, Gary Sanchez, Gio Urshela, Sonny Gray, and Dylan Bundy.
They currently have the second-best odds of winning the division at +500, trailing just the reigning AL Central champions, the Chicago White Sox (-210).
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