Morning Update - 2/23/2021

Albert Pujols' wife appears to signal his retirement, the Diamondbacks add Tyler Clippard, & more.

Good morning. Light amount of info over the last sixteen hours.

It’s February 23rd, 2021 and here’s everything that happened in the world of baseball from 5:00 PM EST yesterday to 9:00 AM EST today.

The Most Important Thing

Bleacher Report @BleacherReport

Albert Pujols' wife, Deidre, says the 10x All-Star will retire following the 2021 season Pujols will be entering his 21st season in the big leagues

Albert Pujols’ wife, Deidre, made some news yesterday evening, appearing to announce that her husband would be retiring at the end of the season.

After the post unsurprisingly started to make headlines, she updated it to add the qualifier “based on his contract.”

Fabian Ardaya @FabianArdaya

Albert Pujols has not made a decision if this will be the final season of his career, a source confirmed, and it’s reflected in the changes to Deidre Pujols’ original post.

Fabian Ardaya @FabianArdaya

Deidre Pujols has amended the Instagram post: https://t.co/mhdLXRbbCa

Everything Else

• RHP Tyler Clippard will sign with the Diamondbacks, per Nick Piecoro. Clippard posted a 2.77 ERA over 26 innings last season with Minnesota. The two-time all-star has a very solid 132 ERA+ for his career.

• Jon Heyman reports RHP Anibal Sanchez, after impressing during his pitching showcase, turned down multiple MLB offers. Sanchez plans to wait to see how things go with the virus in the spring and hopes a contender calls while he waits. Sanchez posted a 6.62 ERA and gave up 11 home runs over 53 innings last season with the Nationals.

• Shin-Soo Choo is heading to the KBO, reportedly signing with SK Wyverns. Choo spent the last 7 seasons in Texas, where he was an all-star in 2018.

• Brett Gardner’s deal with the Yankees is now official. Gardner will get a $1 million signing bonus and earn $1.85 million for the season. There is a dual option for 2022.

• RHP Jason Creasy has been released by the Braves. Creasy, 29, has never reached the majors.

• Minor staff news: Angels GM Perry Minasian’s brother, Calvin Minasian, is now the Braves' director of clubhouse and equipment. He was previously equipment coordinator & manager for the Nationals.

Posts With Your Toast

• Kevin Mather spilled the beans on the worst kept secret in baseball, writes Ken Davidoff.

• John Stanton addressed questions about Kevin Mather and the Mariners’ organizational culture, but many more questions remain, says Kate Preusser.

• Jay Jaffe breaks down the Mets signing of Taijuan Walker.

• Jordan McPherson: As Sixto Sanchez honors his idol, the Miami Marlins have plans for him to improve.

• CJ Cron is healthy and ready to stake his claim as the Rockies’ first basemen, says Patrick Saunders.

• Eric Longenhagen and Kevin Goldstein explore how teams will approach this year’s MLB draft.

• Derrick Goold says the Cardinals open up with a spring in their step and questions off the bat.

Random Baseball Rewind

More classic baseball on the radio. Easily one of the coolest things on YouTube:

Foul Tips

• “Twins with a twist:” How Freddie and Chelsea Freeman grew their family to five.

• Awful story: Former Negro league baseball player Doyle Austin died of hypothermia during Texas’s winter storm.

• A Topps baseball card artist finds her calling following brain surgery.

God bless and good day!

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