That is the really crazy thing here. The only reason to do that is a hedge against him continuing to play like he has the last couple of years, combined with a fear that if he did so, someone would offer him significantly more than Pujols is getting. There are all sorts of downside risks they're taking here that they didn't need to. He'll be what, 30 to 40-41 during this contract and they're not even going to look at the two years of performance leading up to free agency before giving him this deal?