JUPITER, Fla. -- Striking a compromise that both preserves the spirit of the organization's mid-market fiscal policies and maintains a trust with a member of their future core, the Cardinals reached agreement Saturday with Albert Pujols on a one-year, $600,000 contract.

	Albert Pujols Third Base St. Louis Cardinals Profile
	2001 SEASON STATISTICS GM HR RBI R SB AVG 161 37 130 112 1 .329

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch first reported the deal, which includes a $50,000 bonus should Pujols make the NL All-Star team. It is the most lucrative ever bestowed by the club to a player with one year of major-league service and essentially splits the difference between the two sides' initial bargaining positions, according to the newspaper.

"We think it's fair to the club, and we certainly believe it's fair to Albert," said Pujols' lead agent, Danny Lozano, who postponed a trip to the Dominican Republic to finalize the contract with Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty on Saturday morning.

The agreement avoids the disquieting measure of the club assigning a salary to its most productive player from last season. Beginning Sunday, teams may unilaterally renew unsigned players with less than three years' major-league service. Though Pujols never expressed concern with his status, Saturday's deal eliminated any potential distraction for a player who in 2001 earned unanimous selection as Rookie of the Year by batting .329 with 37 home runs and 130 RBI, a record for an NL rookie.

"I don't think money is going to change anything. Money isn't going to change the way you play," Pujols said. "You have to put your numbers up no matter what. You might get $200 million, but you've still got to go out there and play the game hard. That's when you get in trouble and struggle, when you start thinking it's all money, it's all money.

"If you take care of your game, the money is going to be there one day."

Pujols' deal is for more than the previous club standard for a one-year player: the $400,000 deal awarded starting pitcher Rick Ankiel after the 2000 season.

Most important to the Cardinals, the deal does not break the industry record of $690,000 given Chicago Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood after 1999.

The Cardinals now have their entire 40-man roster under contract and project an Opening Day payroll of about $73 million. Jocketty continues to seek a trade that might lower that figure to $70 million or less.

"We wanted to be fair to him, and I think we were," Jocketty told the Post-Dispatch. "They understood that. I think it was important to get it done without any rancor."

Said Pujols, "I'm really happy with it. The Cardinals treated me really well. I can't say anything bad about them."