ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — The St. Louis Cardinals’ free agent most often linked to the New York Mets this offseason as a buoy for that franchise’s floundering has been the Cardinals’ free agent most often linked to any team with pinstripes and/or a pocketbook: Matt Holliday.

Turns out, there may be a Cardinals’ appetizer that interests the Mets first, and perhaps most.

Joel Pineiro, who is set to be a Type B free agent when the…

DOWNTOWN — Asked who he would pick to win the Home Run Derby, New York Mets third baseman David Wright said it was difficult to choose any hitter other than Albert Pujols. But not just because the St. Louis Cardinals first baseman had home field advantage — he had an advantage at any field, to all fields.

Wright joked that he had seen Pujols put on a show at Citi Field a few weeks ago during…

DEMUN — This afternoon at Busch Stadium, the St. Louis Cardinals and Major League Baseball will launch many of the promotions for the coming All-Star Game and All-Star Summer in St. Louis. One campaign is already underway.

Witness Yadier Molina: All-Star Elect.

Last season, manager Tony La Russa — who usually chooses his causes carefully — championed Molina for what he viewed as an overdue invitation for his catcher. Molina, he argued, had added the offense to the…

TOWER GROVE — The extreme makeover of the St. Louis Cardinals’ bullpen continued with an early-April move for another righthander — the team’s confessed depth entering the season — and the wish to carry 13 pitchers on the 25-man roster. All arms on deck.

The arrival of Blaine Boyer from Atlanta tonight throws the Cardinals’ reliever depth chart into a bit of a scramble, though that’s rapidly become a theme of the season as the Cardinals…