No chance of Pujols and Cards reaching deal?

We mentioned before that the St. Louis Cardinals and Albert Pujols had reached a stalemate in contract negotiations. And with Pujols setting the start of spring training as the deadline for getting a deal done, Sports Illustrated’s Jon Heyman doesn’t see it happening.

“Word is, albert pujols and #cardinals are so far apart there is virtually no chance for a deal by his feb. 16 deadline,” Heyman tweets.

Pujols has said repeatedly (too many times to count) that he wants to stay in St. Louis. However, if a deal doesn’t get done by spring training, Pujols could test the free agent waters after this season.

If he really is seeking a deal that’s in the neighborhood of A-Rod’s 10-year, $275 million mega deal, then he is probably going to be testing the free agent waters after this season.