The Cardinals have until Feb. 18 to sign Albert Pujols to a contract extension or they will risk losing their franchise cornerstone. The first baseman set a deadline of Feb. 18, when he'll report to spring training, for the negotiations. If no extension is reached, Pujols will become a free agent after the 2011 season. St. Louis would then have an exclusive negotiating window from the end of the season until five days after the World Series. A deal has seemed inevitable all along, but time is running out. "My agent is talking with Bill [DeWitt, principal team owner] and Mo [general manager John Mozeliak], and let's leave it up to that," Pujols said last month, in his most recent public comments about the situation. "We'll tell you guys. Whenever we get a deal done, I think everybody's going to know. And that's it."