Cardinals legend Albert Pujols reveals massive contract offer he rejected

The 2011-2012 offseason was highlighted by Albert Pujols's blockbuster free agency period. Pujols eventually signed a 10-year deal with the Los Angeles Angels on December 8, 2011 for a whopping 10 years and $254 million. This deal included a no-trade clause and a 10-year personal services agreement after retirement, a deal he's now following through on.

Pujols, a generational St. Louis Cardinals talent, recently unveiled a massive contract offer he received from another team prior to his signing with the Angels. This offer, valued at $315 million, was given by none other than the Miami Marlins.

Reports surrounding the Marlins' offer were unclear at the time, but Pujols revealing details now make it clear that he was a wanted man by Miami. The Marlins were one of the first teams to offer Pujols a deal during that offseason. Their first offer was set at nine years, and they followed up with a 10-year deal. Presumably, that 10-year deal was the one valued at $315 million.

This massive deal would have been the largest contract in MLB history for many years.

St. Louis Cardinals legend Albert Pujols could have set another record with a huge offer from the Miami Marlins.

In an interview with Santiago Matias of Alofoke Media Group, Pujols revealed that he received a $315 million offer from a team that was just an hour and 40 minutes from the Dominican Republic. Reports at the time stated that Pujols received an offer from the Miami Marlins. It doesn't take Sherlock Holmes to figure out that the Marlins were the team that offered Pujols this contract.

The Marlins were coming off a 72-90 season in 2011, and they hadn't made the playoffs since winning the World Series in 2003. Miami had already signed All Star infielder Jose Reyes and closer Heath Bell to sizable contracts, and their pursuit of Pujols was among the greatest at the time. The acquisitions of Reyes and Bell didn't do enough to bolster a young 2012 Marlins team, as they finished the year with a 69-93 record.

Miami was also debuting a new downtown stadium during the 2012 season.

Had Albert signed with the Marlins, the Cardinals would have opened their 2012 season against the man who helped lead the franchise to its greatest run of success in decades. The Cardinals played the Marlins for only one game on April 4, 2012, to christen the Marlins' new stadium.

Miami would have had to un-retire No. 5 for Albert, a move they did that same offseason in February for Logan Morrison. Morrison wore the number in memory of his late father, who loved George Brett. The number was originally retired to honor former owner Carl Berger, a huge fan of Joe DiMaggio.

Per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the mega contract offered to Pujols by the Marlins did not include a no-trade clause, as no-trade clauses were against organizational policy.

Albert's first 10 seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals were among the greatest decade of output for any player in MLB history. His departure from St. Louis certainly scarred many fans of the Cardinals, but his historic return a decade later helped heal some of those wounds.

Had he signed with the Marlins, his contract would have been the largest until 2019, when Bryce Harper would sign a 13-year, $330 million deal with the Philadelphia Phillies.

It was a shame to see Albert Pujols leave St. Louis. However, the Cardinals were able to backfill his absence and find ample success from 2012-2019. Meanwhile, Albert faded while with the Angels. Had he signed with the Miami Marlins, half of his playing history would have been re-written.

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