Cubs: What if the team had signed Albert Pujols back in 2011?

This wasn’t the end Albert Pujols or baseball envisioned for the superstar. Unarguably one of the greatest hitters to ever play the game, Pujols was designated for assignment last week by the Angels and has cleared waivers – making him a free agent.

Now, once upon a time, there was speculation Pujols would leave St. Louis following the 2011 season and actually join the Chicago Cubs – the Cardinals’ long-standing rival in the NL Central. For a myriad of reasons, the idea intrigued baseball writers and fans across the country.

At one point, there were reports out of St. Louis that the Cubs actually threw their hat in the ring with an offer. But to wrap our minds around that scenario now, a decade later, let’s hop in the DeLorean and gain some much-needed context

Pujols’ streak of eight consecutive All-Star appearances was snapped in 2011, when he wound only hitting 37 home runs and driving in 99 runs with a .299/.366/.541 line across 147 contests. Of course, in 2008 and 2009, the Cardinals slugger won back-to-back NL MVPs – cementing himself as one of the most feared sluggers in the game.

But as the contract stalemate between his camp and the organization drew out, it seemed almost inevitable he’d be on his way out of St. Louis, despite all he and the team had accomplished during his 11 years there. To go to Chicago, though, was – for obvious reasons – unthinkable for Cardinals fans.

Cubs: With Pujols, we would have never seen the rise of Anthony Rizzo

And let’s not forget: one of the greatest Cubs of this generation – Anthony Rizzo – shares Pujols’ position. One of the first moves Epstein and Jed Hoyer made was to bring him in, which obviously wouldn’t have happened if Pujols were in the fold.

To call his tenure with the Angels a failure is, by most measures, perfectly fair. Of course, player contracts have exploded since 2011 but the team clearly expected more from the future Hall of Famer when they signed him.

He finished his tenure in Anaheim with a .256/.311/.447 line – which works out to a 109 OPS+. He clubbed 222 homers during this span – in other words, he put up 22 long-balls and 78 RBI annually as an Angel. That’s nowhere near $24 million of value. Not even close.

Meanwhile, Rizzo has won a World Series, earned three All-Star appearances, brought home three Gold Gloves and a Platinum Glove – and a Silver Slugger, to boot. He’s done all this while becoming the face of the franchise, this generation’s ‘Mr. Cub’ and putting up a .273/.374/.490 line – which works out to about 30 percent above league average, offensively.

It’s safe to say the Cubs dodged a major bullet when they decided to take the long road to success, opting to focus on the future rather than what a slugging first baseman heading into his 30s had done in the past. In fact, it’s quite possible that the decision to pass on Albert Pujols played a direct role in the team ending a 108-year World Series championship drought.