DALLAS (AP) - Three-time NL MVP Albert Pujols has agreed to a 10-year contract with the Los Angeles Angels worth about $250 million to $260 million, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on Thursday.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because it had not been announced.
Pujols led the St. Louis Cardinals to a World Series title this fall _ his second with the team. He had been pursued by the Miami Marlins, but they dropped out Wednesday after agreeing to a deal with Mark Buehrle.
The Cardinals exercised a $16 million option on Pujols’ contract after last season. The slugger rejected a multiyear extension that included a small percentage of the franchise over the winter and cut off negotiations on the first day of spring training.
Pujols’ numbers in nearly every major offensive category are on a three-year decline, but he remains among the game’s elite players. He hit 37 home runs last season, running his 30-homer streak to 11 years, and batted .299 with 99 RBIs. He led the Cardinals’ improbable late-season surge and became only the third player to hit three home runs in a World Series game.
Yahoo Sports first reported the Pujols deal.
“For 2012, two wilds cards and no Albert Pujols. I’m happy,” said Sandy Alderson, general manager of the Cardinals’ NL rival New York Mets.
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