New GM Stamey had this to say to reporters, "Anytime you trade away a future hall of famer like Pujols, the fans are going to question your motivation. Instead of speculation, let me share with you why this organization made this move. Albert is a great player and has been nothing but a class act for this club and in the club house. But the team clearly needed more that Albert to compete in the powerful NL Central Division. It is a calculated risk but the front office believes that to compete at the next level, we needed to dramatically improve our middle infield, both offensively and defensively. We have been targeting Tulowitzki during the offseason and when we learned that we could acquire him, this became a no brainer for the organization. Tulo brings a great bat along with gold glove defense and at the tender age of 25, will only get better. He is the kind of player you build a franchise around. Justin provides a very potent bat in replacing Pujols and his offensive numbers can be just as significant as Albert's were. Combined, we have two players helping out the club instead of one."
"We are not done with making improvements to the 2010 club. We are in talks with the Atlanta Braves for outstanding second baseman Kelly Johnson and the combination of Johnson and Tulowitzki would bring us one of the strongest offensive middle infields in all of GABA. This will only strengthen our pitching staff having Tulo sucking up baseballs with ease and with both contributing significantly with their bats."
So with that, Albert Pujols closes out his time with the St. Louis Cardinals. It has been believed that he would spend his entire career in St. Louis. Will this move help out the struggling Cards, or will the front office come to regret trading away the future Hall of Famer?
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