Albert Pujols to reach 700 career home runs odds: Still long shot for Cardinals' future Hall of Famer

Future first-ballot Hall of Famer Albert Pujols entered the 2022 season with little chance to join the exclusive 700 home run club in Major League Baseball. The only current members are Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755) and Babe Ruth (714). Pujols was brought back by the Cardinals at age 42. He simply hadn't been a very productive hitter since 2019 and was 21 homers shy of 700. Well, Pujols has found the Fountain of Youth and is currently one of the hottest hitters in the majors, and it's no longer impossible that he reaches 700. SportsLine offers odds.

In August, Pujols is hitting a ridiculous .472 with seven homers and 14 RBI to help the red-hot Cardinals start to pull away atop the NL Central Division. Over his past 10 games, Pujols is slugging 1.300, the highest slugging percentage in a 10-game span in the three-time NL MVP's career. His seven homers this month are more than the supposedly-contending Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox have as teams.

Pujols' OPS+ this season (146) is slightly higher than his career number (144). Among batters with at least 200 plate appearances in a season at age 40 or older, Pujols's OPS+ ranks eighth; among 42-year-olds, it trails only Barry Bonds' 2007 number of 169.

Pujols went yard Monday night – his sixth homer in his past seven games -- for the only run in a 1-0 victory at the Cubs. That's 14 dingers on the season, meaning he is seven shy of 700. He hit the homer Monday off Drew Smyly, the 449th different pitcher he's taken deep, tying Bonds' record.  The homer was Pujols' 30th at Wrigley Field in his 98th game there.

"He's the machine for a reason," said Smyly. "He's back."

Ten of Pujols' 14 home runs this year have come since the start of July. No player age 42 or older has ever hit more than 13 home runs in July or later of a season. If Pujols is going to reach 700 career home runs, he would need to hit 17 from July on.

Pujols, three home runs shy of tying Alex Rodriguez (696 homers) for fourth all-time, insists he's still going to retire after the season, so he'd obviously have to hit seven in the Cards' final 41 games – and at his age, he doesn't play every single day, even with the DH in the National League.

"I think at the end of the day you know you have to trust your work, and that's something that I do," Pujols said after Monday's game. "I come out here, no matter where I'm playing, and continue to do my work for 22 years."

The Cardinals play a day/night doubleheader at Wrigley today, and Pujols will likely not start both ends. Most of his playing time comes against left-handed pitchers, which is why the odds are so long for 700.

Via SportsLine oddsmakers: Will Albert Pujols get to 700 HRs this season?

• Yes +800
• No -1600

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