ST. LOUIS — Yadier Molina had just one question for John Mozeliak, St. Louis’ president of baseball operations, when the latter informed him that Albert Pujols would be returning to the Cardinals for the 2022 season.
“What took you so long?”
The Cardinals did not enter the spring thinking they would be bringing back Pujols — a two-time World Series champion, three-time MVP and 10-time All-Star (nine of which came with St. Louis) — for one last go before he retires. While the front office was pursuing more bench depth, Mozeliak was also committed to making sure the organization’s top hitting prospects in Nolan Gorman, Juan Yepez and Brendan Donovan were getting substantial at-bats. But as time passed, and the 42-year-old Pujols remained unsigned, strategy began to change. And once the organization decided to reach out to their old friend, the decision to re-sign him became a no-brainer.
On March 28, the Cardinals inked Pujols to a one-year, $2.5 million contract, bringing a beloved franchise icon home for what will be the final season of his 22-year career. Pujols, a sure-fire Hall of Famer, knew all along he wanted to come back to St. Louis. But the timing, the situation and the role had to be right. Things had to align perfectly for both sides.
In the end, it took just 48 hours of cross-country communication for the Cardinals to bring Pujols home. Here’s how they pulled it off.
It wasn’t unusual when Molina reached out and FaceTime’d Pujols on March 26 from the Cardinals’ spring training clubhouse in Jupiter, Fla. The two, described by Molina as brothers, have been in constant communication since Pujols left St. Louis for the Los Angeles Angels following the Cardinals’ last World Series win in 2011.
“We stay in touch probably two, three times a week,” Molina explained.
Molina wanted to know what Pujols was up to. Pujols had not been picked up by a team, though there were a few with interest and at least one potential deal on the table. More precisely, though, Molina wanted to know why Pujols wasn’t a Cardinal yet.
“When Yadi reached out and we talked, I thought, ‘Okay, there’s a chance for me to be reunited here,’” Pujols said.
The wheels began to spin.
After his call with Molina, Pujols received a text from Cardinals manager Oli Marmol and they agreed to talk on the phone Saturday. Marmol also reached out to Mozeliak to let him know he’d been in contact with Pujols.
“All I said to (Oli) at that time was, ‘Please just follow up with him,’” Mozeliak said. “Let him know that you and I have spoken and that at some point in the next couple of days I will try to follow up.”
Marmol initially reached out Saturday morning, but Pujols — three hours behind in Los Angeles — wasn’t able to get on the phone until that evening when Marmol was at dinner with his wife, Amber. But when Pujols did ring, Marmol knew it was a call he had to answer.
“We got to talking and I was gauging where he was physically and mentally, and his interest in being back here,” Marmol explained. “It was pretty clear immediately that his desire was not just to sign with any team and play one more year, but it was to finish here. He was telling me he was in shape, he had lost 15 pounds or so, he was taking live at-bats, and he was hoping I would call.”
Marmol knew exactly what his next move would be when he hung up the phone.
“I immediately texted Mo,” Marmol said, referring to Mozeliak. The text was simple. It was only three words, but it didn’t require further explanation:
“Five wants back.”
Things escalated quickly after that. By Sunday morning, Mozeliak was beginning to form a game plan. He checked in with Pujols, telling him he would like to speak directly on the phone at some point that day. Then he met with Marmol in his office ahead of the Cardinals’ exhibition game against the Mets in Port St. Lucie.
“A couple hours later, we were pretty close to a deal,” Marmol…
Read More: ‘Five wants back’: How a 48-hour stretch of calls, texts and FaceTimes brought