At least one GM thinks Cards will reach deal with Pujols

Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols will arrive at spring camp in Jupiter, Florida on Wednesday and has informed the club that he wants all talks regarding a contract extension to cease once he unpacks his things. The clock isn’t ticking, it’s screaming.

If you kept up with the story last week, it was all about doom and gloom. In fact, SI.com’s Jon Heyman said at one point that the Cardinals have “virtually no chance” of reaching a long-term contract extension by Pujols’ self-imposed deadline.

That might be the case, but at least one baseball executive believes that a deal will get done. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe spoke Saturday with a “general manager in a larger market,” who had little doubt that the two sides would eventually reach an agreement, no matter if it makes business sense or not:

“What will happen is, they’ll get it done,” said the unnamed general manager.” The Cardinals aren’t a small-market team, so they’re in that area where they probably have to do it because not doing it would create chaos and possible loss of revenue. But once in a while, you do something bold and think outside the box.’’

Pujols’ representatives and the members of the Cardinals’ front office have done an admirable job of keeping information about the course of the negotiations out of the media, so no one can really say for sure whether it’s going to get done. Albert is thought to have a 10-year, $275 million contract on his mind. The Cardinals, meanwhile, are reportedly trying to keep the extension to six or seven years. There is not much time left for the two sides to find a middle ground.