(Image Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

BY KAVEH KAGHAZI

ANCHOR JONAH JAVAD

Will Albert Pujols be the next superstar to take his talents to South Beach?

MLB.com reported Thursday-- the free agent slugger would meet over the weekend with the revamped Miami Marlins as of tonight. A writer from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says with a new manager and stadium coming in 2012, the Marlins have the pieces in place to make Pujols their big free agent catch.

“All that newness and aggressiveness is a strong selling point, but so too are some other things that could woo Pujols…Being the latest king to arrive in Miami, a city that has a strong Latin presence and is fertile ground for marketing opportunities.”

With potential targets Jose Reyes, and Mark Buehrle, the dominoes seem to be falling in place for the new-look Marlins. But a writer from the Miami Herald says it could be a while before they are ready to compete with the big boys.

“The Marlins can dream big. They can dream all they want. But the fact remains that, even with the pending increase in payroll, they’re not in the sort of financial realm to pay big stars mega-salaries…”

But would the Cardinals let their franchise player walk? At 31, Pujols is coming off his worst season as a pro. ESPN’s Jayson Stark says if the Cards were keeping their slugger, they would have hauled him in by now.

“I’m not so positive, Jim, that he is going to wind up back there. It only takes one team, right? And I think if the Cardinals were sure that they were going to do whatever it took, whatever the price was to keep Albert in St. Louis, wouldn’t that deal have already gotten done?”

And finally an analyst from Cinesport says it’s in the Cardinals’ best interest to pull out the all the stops for Big Albert.

“Albert Pujols is the Babe Ruth of this generation and I think it’s very important that they understand the need to recruit him. They have to wine and dine and do all the things to let him know that they love him, that they need him, that they want him.”

St. Louis failed to sign Pujols during the season and for the first time in his 11-year career-- the All-Star first baseman is an unrestricted free agent.