Pujols bristles at report of being traded for Phillies' Howard

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Albert Pujols for Ryan Howard? Let's just say the MVP sluggers don't plan to pack their bags anytime soon.

Talk of a megatrade kept baseball buzzing Monday following an ESPN report the Philadelphia Phillies were thinking about asking the St. Louis Cardinals if they'd like to swap star first basemen.

Pujols didn't appreciate the speculation.

"There's people, stupid, that like to write something when it's not the truth, and that's all I have to say about that," he said as the Cardinals visited the New York Mets for an exhibition game.

"If I'm getting traded, they need to come to me. That's not my job to go to them," Pujols said. "I've been saying all along I want to be here, but whatever, it's not up to me. I just think somebody tried to be funny, but it's so stupid when somebody takes something like that serious."

Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. denied his team had discussed a trade and used "lies" and "ridiculous" and "irresponsible" to describe the report, which ESPN based on unidentified sources.

Pujols and Howard are both 30 years old, have led their teams to the World Series championship and can become free agents after the 2011 season.

Pujols is a three-time MVP and has been an All-Star in each of his eight seasons since making his major league debut with the Cardinals.

Howard, who's from the St. Louis area, was the 2006 NL MVP.

-- The Associated Press