As of this writing, the Cardinals still have all five outfielders who played a substantial portion of time with them last season _ Ankiel, Ludwick, Schumaker, Duncan, Mather.  And now along comes Colby Rasmus. Where does he fit in?

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Q: Mr. Hummel, I have a question about Rasmus. Since the Cardinals didn’t non-tender Chris Duncan and recent reports make it sound like Tony La Russa is fully planning on having Duncan on the starting roster, where in the world are they going to find room for Rasmus? As we all know, they need to move at least one outfielder to make room for him and I, frankly, don’t understand why they didn’t just non-tender Duncan, since he has little to no trade value and is the least certain of the outfielders they have, in terms of health/productivity. I know there’s a chance they could trade an outfielder, and, with six outfielders they actually probably need to move two of them anyway. Just wondering what you’ve heard about the plans for Rasmus. Mo sounds certain that Rasmus will start the season in the bigs, but it seems like maybe Tony isn’t of like mind. Thank you very much.

Lynda

A:  If Mo and Tony are to be taken at their word, Rasmus will be on the club when it leaves Jupiter, Fla. As for Duncan, tendering him didn’t cost the Cardinals that much money and, if healthy, I think he will have some trade value. But that likely will have to wait till spring. I expect many deals to be made in March next year, with injured players coming back and teams suddenly trying to unload high-salaried veterans because of what is perceived will be a large dropoff in season-ticket sales across the board.

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Q: Mr.Hummel, I know you hear this all of the time but thank you for taking our questions. It’s  greatly appreciated by all.  My question is when Rasmus finally does get to the majors what do you think we can expect from him as far as production? I know he has been slow to start at every level.  But is he going to be comparable to a Jacoby Ellsbury of the Red Sox?  Ellsbury hit .280, with nine  home runs, had 47 RBI, and 50 stolen bases in 145 games played.  Does Rasmus have more power, maybe more home run potential?  Also does Rasmus have the speed and more importantly the base stealing skills to steal 50 bases?  Thank you very much Mr. Hummel.

Kyle

A: Thanks, Kyle. The difference in the two may be that Rasmus appears to have more power. But the comparison to Ellsbury probably is an apt one, relative to their speed and defensive abilities. Rasmus will steal a high number of bases, depending, in part, on where he hits in the lineup.

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Q: Hi Commish. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!!! Seems like some tempers are flaring in regards to free agents _ the Red Sox and Braves of note, plus the long wait on Fuentes.  I know the Lords of Baseball are worried about next season’s revenues and the fatted cow is a little slimmer this winter.  I think Mo is doing an excellent joy of waiting out the market.  What do you think?  I’m betting he gets some real talent at lower prices.  It’s no longer a race by the teams to get the best talent, but the race by the players to get aboard good teams before spring training.  Looks like the Cardinals’ patience will pay off.  How do you feel about it?

Thom

A: I think there will be some bargains, starting pitching in particular, in January, February and even March as players find themselves still unemployed. Mo’s strategy seems to be to test the waters,  rather than jump in. I don’t disagree, but the only way to tell if that’s right will be to see what shows up here on April 6.

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Q: Commish, it’s fairly obvious the Cardinals aren’t going to make a play for a ‘big name’ starting pitcher, i.e. Jake Peavy, Derek Lowe.  I was wondering if you thought they might have any interest in Jon Garland?  He’s not the greatest option available, but he consistently puts up solid numbers.  The last seven years of his career he has started at least 32 games and won at least 10 games in each of those seasons.  He could kind of fill the role that Jeff Suppan had during his tenure with the Cardinals.

Thanks.

Steve

A: Garland’s not a bad call. How much better than Looper is he, though? And Looper still is available.

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Q: I remember hearing that the Yankees were interested in Rick Ankiel. Then I saw chatter that there was a Yankees/Brewers deal in the works that would have sent Mike Cameron to the Yankees, which would have filled the Yanks need for CF.  Reports now are that the Yanks/Brewers deal is dead. Seems like with the Yankees having signed Sabathia and Burnett already and with them looking into Sheets or Pettite that they might have a surplus of starting pitching. The Cardinals have a need for starting pitching depth in 2009 and a shortage of pitching prospects at AAA Memphis. What do you think about Ankiel for Ian Kennedy?  Wasn’t Kennedy a very highly touted prospect?  Seems like he lost a bit of luster with a poor showing in his rookie debut, but might several years of cost-controlled Ian Kennedy be worth one more year of Rick Ankiel (who is a free agent after this year and a client of super-agent Scott Boras)? The risk is that we lose one great year from Ankiel, but the possible reward is several years of a cost-controlled starter.

Nathan

Q: I’d hate to trade a fairly proven product in Ankiel for an unproven one in Kennedy. If the Yankees thought Kennedy would help them, he would be in their rotation.

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Q: Commish. Any chance we try to sign Bobby Abreu ?? He would be a great fit in the # 2 hole.

Bryan

A: That may be,  but the Cardinals do not not need any more lefthanded-hitting outfielders, without moving a couple. They need pitching.