Major League Baseball

Albert Pujols' return to St. Louis Cardinals: What to expect

Updated Mar. 30, 2022 1:22 p.m. ET

By Jake Mintz
FOX Sports MLB Writer

When Albert Pujols debuted back in 2001, current Cardinals manager Oli Marmol was a freshman in high school.

That's right. Read that sentence once more. Let it really sink in. Here, I’ll type it again: When Albert Pujols debuted back in 2001, current Cardinals manager Oli Marmol was a freshman in high school.

The first-year St. Louis skipper is now 35 years old, which makes him the youngest manager in the bigs. The St. Louis slugger is now 42 years old, which makes him the oldest player in the bigs. And Marmol is now set to be Pujols’ boss, as the future Hall of Famer officially reunites with the team with which his career began some 22 long years ago.

Pujols returned to Cardinals camp to a standing ovation Monday at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter. After the end of the first inning, the franchise icon emerged from a gate down the right-field line wearing the unmistakable No. 5 jersey that he made famous during his tenure in St. Louis from 2001 to 2011.

As Pujols strolled — gingerly, mind you — toward the dugout and the public address announcer introduced — well, reintroduced — him to the crowd, the greatest hitter of a generation seemed to soak in the moment, waving to fans the whole way. It was surreal and far from the typical Monday afternoon at spring training.

Later, Pujols held a news conference with team GM Jon Mozeliak and owner William DeWitt to announce his one-year, $2.5 million deal and, more importantly, share that 2022 will be the final year of his remarkable career. After more than a decade of relative disappointment in California, Pujols will end his career in the proper shade of red.

While Pujols’ return to St. Louis is the rare feel-good reunion that actually happens, it carries with it a lot of uncertainty. What if he sucks? What if he gets hurt? Is he going to DH every day, or will he be a bench bat? At 42, is he actually good enough to be on a team with postseason aspirations? Are there any major records or milestones he might have his eyes on?

All good questions, and I’ve got answers — or at least, I’ve got some guesses.

Here we go.

How good is Pujols right now?

Better than you, at the very least.

As washed as he has looked at times, Pujols was sneaky awesome last year against left-handed pitching. Over the full season, he slashed .294/.336/.603 (that’s batting average/on base percentage/slugging percentage) with 13 home runs in 146 plate appearances against lefties. That’s a higher OPS (on base plus slugging) against southpaws than those of Mookie Betts, Nick Castellanos, Carlos Correa and Aaron Judge.

In October, teams were able to game-plan Pujols, mixing and matching their way above, past and around the aging vet. The Braves in particular made him look totally lost in the NLCS. But his skill versus opposite-side pitching makes him still worth a flier in free agency, historic reunion aside.

Granted, against right-handed pitching, it was a different story. A sadder story. A story with many slow, downtrodden half-runs-half-limps down the first-base line. A story that concluded with a microscopic .180/.233/.266 slash line and just four home runs in 140 trips to the dish.

By the end of the season with the Dodgers, Pujols was barely even facing righties.

How much is he going to play?

Obviously, Pujols has zero defensive value whatsoever and shouldn’t even be playing first base at this point. On the basepaths, it’s a piano-on-the-back situation, with Pujols’ lingering plantar fasciitis and advanced age hindering his ability to run with anything resembling speed.

Pujols is a bat and nothing more.

But if last year’s numbers are to be believed, the guy can still smash lefties. Expect him to start at DH against left-handed pitchers and be a pinch hitter late in games started by righties.

This is not a one-day contract that simply allows him to retire as a Cardinal; Pujols will be expected to play and play decently well.

What if he sucks?

Obviously, it would be ideal for everyone, this neutral observer included, if Pujols is good. Generational player rides off into the sunset, everyone claps, a city rejoices, etc.

But not all dreams come true, and there’s a real chance that Pujols straight-up doesn’t have it anymore. Don’t be shocked if come May 15, he has a .150 batting average and the Cardinals, a team with postseason aspirations, have to make an uncomfortable decision.

This more or less happened last year with the Angels. After 10 years in town, the club released Pujols, and everyone thought that was it. Fortunately, he latched on with the Dodgers and rejuvenated himself a bit. But this season, he could become enough of a liability that the Cardinals have to pull the plug.

In that case, chances are the team would encourage Pujols to "retire" to spare him the embarrassment of being released. There’s no chance he wears another uniform this year; either he’s a productive enough member of the 2022 Cardinals, or he hangs ‘em up prematurely.

Are Cards fans still angry?

Not really. When Albert left for warmer pastures and a large satchel of money the winter after winning the 2011 World Series, many Cards fans were expectedly irked by his departure (even though we would all choose generational wealth if given the opportunity).

The folks at the Effectively Wild Podcast uncovered that Pujols is one of just three All-Star-level players ever to spend more than a decade with one team, win the World Series in his final year with that team and then depart in free agency. The others? Rogers Hornsby and Freddie Freeman.

Pujols spent a decade in California baseball purgatory as his skills gradually evaporated. Over those years, the animosity in Missouri dissipated, and by the time Pujols returned to Busch Stadium for the first time as an Angel in 2019, he received a huge ovation.

There has never been a bigger cheer for an away player homering than there was when Pujols went yard off Dakota Hudson in that series. A curtain call for an opponent!

What records and milestones is Pujols chasing?

Pujols currently sits fifth on the all-time home run leaderboard, with 679 big flies. Alex Rodriguez is the name directly ahead of him, with 696 homers, so Pujols needs 17 to draw even with A-Rod and 18 to move into sole possession of fourth. That’s definitely within reach.

Anything beyond that is probably a stretch. Babe Ruth is another 18 homers beyond A-Rod, but a 36-dinger season feels unrealistic for Pujols. That said, the 700-homer club, of which Ruth, Henry Aaron and Barry Bonds are the only members, is a reasonable goal.

Albert Pujols retiring with the St. Louis Cardinals after one more season I Flippin' Bats

Ben Verlander talks about Albert Pujols' decision to retire after one more season with the Cardinals. Ben discusses Pujols' legacy as one of the greatest right-handed hitters of all time and his chase for 21 more home runs to reach 700 for his career.

While RBIs are not statistically meaningful and have fallen out of favor among the sabermetrically inclined, they’re still a prestige stat that your grandmother’s cousin will mention at the Thanksgiving table. Pujols is currently third on the all-time list, with 2,150, and would pass Ruth with 65 more "ribbies," with just Aaron way out in front at an unreachable 2,297.

And a dorkier one for my stat nerds out there: Pujols is sitting at 99.6 Baseball Reference Wins Above Replacement (WAR). One hundred is a nice, big, round, sexy number, so if Pujols can put up at least 0.4 WAR this year, that would be sweet for his Baseball Reference page.

All these numbers are a phenomenal reminder of just how good Pujols has been. The names we’re mentioning along with him — Ruth, Bonds, Mays — are quite literally the all-time greats of the sport. Pujols is the best Latin American hitter ever, a first-ballot Hall of Famer and the most impressive position player of the 21st century, Trout or not (so far).

He has put together a truly awe-inspiring career, no matter what happens in his final chapter in St. Louis.

Jake Mintz is the louder half of @CespedesBBQ and a baseball writer for FOX Sports. He’s an Orioles fan living in New York City, and thus, he leads a lonely existence most Octobers. If he’s not watching baseball, he’s almost certainly riding his bike. You can follow him on Twitter @Jake_Mintz.