(This story, originally published early Saturday, was updated Saturday night after the Cardinals signed free agent Lance Berkman.)
ORLANDO, Fla. -- At this time last year, the Cardinals had not yet secured the fourth member of their starting rotation and were anticipating their first round of face-to-face meetings with the agents for free-agent outfielder Matt Holliday.
Coming off a 91-win division title, the club reached Major League Baseball's winter meetings in deep-frozen downtown Indianapolis short two starting pitchers and a cleanup hitter.
The Cardinals this week travel to warmer climes with fewer large questions as general manager John Mozeliak leads the team's entourage to Orlando, Fla. Thanks to earlier deadlines that created a second wave of free agents Thursday, these winter meetings are expected to engender much more player movement than in recent years.
The Cardinals chose to beat the rush, setting their starting rotation by retaining free agent Jake Westbrook with a two year, $16.5 million contract and securing former Houston Astros All-Star first baseman-outfielder Lance Berkman to a one-year, $8 million deal.
A team with a pitch-to-contact philosophy partly fulfilled a promise to reshape its middle infield Tuesday by acquiring Ryan Theriot from the Los Angeles Dodgers. But in some ways the trade invited additional questions as Mozeliak projected Theriot as the team's starting shortstop after he primarily played second base for the Dodgers and Chicago Cubs.
At the press conference to announce Tuesday's deal, Mozeliak promised, "We're not done."
Following Berkman's signing, he suggested the winter's heavy lifting was all but done, as Berkman projects at one corner outfield post with Skip Schumaker apparently remaining at second base as the other half of the team's double-play combo.
An 86-win team has leftover needs for another left-side infielder, a backup catcher and perhaps another lefthanded reliever.
Mozeliak is expected to make available deposed starting shortstop Brendan Ryan for trade, with Tyler Greene available as insurance behind Theriot. Once projected as one half of a modified right field platoon with Jon Jay, Allen Craig will now be exposed at third base during spring training as support for projected starter David Freese.
Opportunities abound as MLB advanced its deadline for teams to offer contracts to players from immediately after the meetings to four days prior.
Accelerated player movement comes against a backdrop of much-anticipated talks with first baseman Albert Pujols over a contract extension. Pujols' agent, Dan Lozano, is expected to meet with Mozeliak and Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. this week. (Lozano spent Saturday night in St. Louis attending Pujols' annual Christmas gala at the Chase Park Plaza.) The club prefers that talks proceed a bit more smoothly than last December's initial sit-down with Holliday's agent, Scott Boras, who engaged the team's leadership in a sometimes testy debate regarding his client's market value as well as the franchise's resources.
Talking Albert
Repeated organizational assurances that Pujols' approaching free agency won't inhibit the team's approach to 2011 are incomplete. Not including the arbitration-eligible Theriot, about $80 million of a projected $100 million-$105 million payroll is already guaranteed seven players for 2011. Ryan Franklin, Skip Schumaker and Trever Miller account for another $8.2 million. And until more is known about where the club stands with its three-time National League MVP, there is little stomach for long-term commitments to other players.
Barring a multi-year deal pre-empting Theriot's second bite at arbitration — and not accounting for money deferred from Holliday, Pujols and Chris Carpenter — the Cardinals likely have more than $100 million committed to their 10 highest-salaried players.
The Cardinals assumed Pujols' $16 million option for 2011 before the end of the World Series. That obligation, second-highest on the team to Matt Holliday's $17 million for next season, pales against what will be required to make Pujols "a Cardinal for life."
More infield
Freese is in the midst of a six-month rehabilitation from surgery in August to reconstruct his right ankle. He also has required a cleanup of a right ankle injured in a December 2008 car accident. Obtaining a player able to back up at third base and at shortstop is vital to a club that has scrambled to address both positions the last two seasons.
Edgar Renteria, Melvin Mora and Nick Punto offer potential free-agent fits. (The Cardinals discussed free agents Miguel Tejada and Juan Uribe before trading for Theriot. Both could play either left-side infield position. Tejada received $6.5 million from the San Francisco Giants; Uribe commanded an average $7 million for three seasons from the Los Angeles Dodgers.) Greene failed to distinguish himself with the parent club last season but, for now, projects to get another opportunity to serve as infield depth as available resources appear to have been all but exhausted on Berkman.
Trading Private Ryan
The Pittsburgh Pirates, Baltimore Orioles and San Diego Padres are seeking a regular shortstop. Former Redbird infielders Cesar Izturis and Julio Lugo have ended up at Camden Yards in recent years, but the pitching-dominant Padres may be the leading candidate to acquire Ryan, whose exile from St. Louis might be softened by landing in his native Southern California.
Mozeliak has been public about his desire to explore the market for Ryan, a popular figure with local media who became a clubhouse irritant to his manager and a number of veteran teammates. With Mozeliak already anointed Theriot as their starting shortstop "right now," Ryan's potential role as a utility defender has yet to gain traction.
Backing Molina
Yadier Molina has made 266 starts and caught 2,314 innings the past two seasons despite finishing each on uncooperative knees. Molina did not appear after Sept. 21 last season due to knee inflammation and limped through the final week and postseason in 2010 after taking a foul ball off the knee in a division-clinching win in Colorado.
Molina, 28, is as protective of his playing time as his good friend Pujols. He also raised his overall average from .223 to .262 after last season's All-Star break. But Molina's commitment to keeping himself available does have its drawbacks, as his mobility was clearly compromised during the schedule's final weeks.
The Cardinals allowed Matt Pagnozzi, thought to be the leading internal candidate to serve as Molina's backup, to leave via minor-league free agency. (He has since signed with the Colorado Rockies.) Given Jason LaRue's departure, the Cardinals hope to acquire a veteran who offers some offensive punch while assuming more than the 202 innings LaRue averaged behind the plate in his final two seasons here.
The Cardinals would like to entice an established defensive talent whose offensive numbers may fail to support him as a starter. A player such as Gerald Laird is unlikely to accept a second-string role at this stage of his career. A recent non-tender such as Ronny Paulino could emerge as a possibility after his 2010 season was shortened by a 50-game suspension that carries over to the first eight games of 2011. After openly discussing retirement during his postseason tour with the Texas Rangers, Yadier's older brother, Benjie, offers an intriguing alternative.
"I think each year that role becomes even more important," said pitching coach Dave Duncan. "You want to keep Yadi at his best. ... I really don't want somebody who is defensively suspect. Our pitchers have grown accustomed to taking that part of the game serious. Our pitchers would be the first one to react."
Playing Rule 5 Lotto
The Cardinals have used the major-league (or Rule 5) draft to select players such as Hector Luna, Brian Barton and Ben Jukich in recent years. Luna and Barton stuck for at least a season; Jukich did not. A lost gamble costs the drafting club only $25,000.
The Cardinals lost reliever Luis Perdomo in the draft prior to the 2009 season and have similarly exposed former first-round pick Adam Ottavino this year. Ottavino did not appear after July 3 last season because of a shoulder strain that the club initially thought would require surgery. Former organizational player of the year Daryl Jones also is available.
Any player selected Thursday must remain on his new team's 25-man roster for the entire season or be offered back to his original club for half the $50,000 drafting fee. The Cardinals have three vacancies on their major-league roster but think it unlikely they'll find a fit.
Adjusting the outfield
Berkman has struggled the past two years against lefthanded pitching. leaving an opening for Craig to find occasional time in the outfield. Jay's standing is now clouded. He could serve as a fourth outfielder, a trade piece or again an everyday presence in the Memphis outfield. Jay did exhibit productivity coming off the bench last season, and Berkman's defense could create a late-inning opportunity.
The Cardinals are open to shifting Matt Holliday from left field to right but have yet to approach him about the prospect. If Jay remains, Schumaker's time in the outfield would appear limited at best. Perhaps most encouraging, the Cardinals will not repeat last season's failed attempt to use three inexperienced righthanded-hitting extra outfielders for season-opening depth.
The No. 6 starter
Last year's December uncertainty over the rotation is replaced by one of the deepest turns in the league. That said, 2010 again reminded the club of the risks associated with an absent No. 6 starter. (The Cardinals got 39 starts last season from pitchers not found in the season-opening rotation.) The Cardinals are still seeking a minor-league free agent to head their Triple-A rotation and offer insurance for a gifted staff that carries a lengthy medical history. Lance Lynn, 23, impressed at times last season at Memphis but did not receive a September look.
"We might get to spring training and Lynn proves that he's the guy," Duncan said. "I don't think that collectively we feel he's there at this exact time."
