Albert Pujols, one of the greatest free agents in the history of free agency, would seem to have a bit of leverage. He has the Miami Marlins fighting for him, and he has the St. Louis Cardinals fighting to keep him. One of things that Pujols plans to do with that leverage, apparently, is push for a no-trade clause. Not so fast, says Marlins president David Samson:
Marlins pres David Samson says: "There will NOT be a free agent signed that includes a no-trade clause." So team sticking with policy.
If Pujols were to re-sign with the Cardinals, he would have de facto protection from a trade as a 10/5 player -- a player who has been in the league for ten years, and with the same team for at least the last five. The Marlins would need to write any no-trade protection into a Pujols contract, which they're apparently unwilling to do. And if they didn't do it for Reyes, there's a bit of a precedent for the team not caving on this particular policy.
Pujols's fear is crazy, though. It's not like the Marlins are going to go all wacky in free agency and then turn around and trade everyone after a year or two, right? What sort of team would do that?