St. Louis Cardinals Have Plenty of Questions to Answer this Offseason

Thanks to one error by left-fielder Matt Holliday, one implosion by closer Ryan Franklin, one ineffective start by ace Chris Carpenter, and clutch hitting by the Los Angeles Dodgers, the St. Louis Cardinals went from title contender to a team in dire straights.

They have nine impending free-agents, three of whom they should focus on re-signing–Holliday, starting pitcher Joel Pineiro, and infielder Mark Derosa.

Of the three, Holliday is the most important. The 29-year-old is a star with 35 homer, 130 RBI ability and, in the prime of his career, can command well over $100 million this offseason, and possibly a yearly salary nearing $20 million.

The Cardinals have a decision to make: whether they want to use half of their offseason’s money on one player, or try to find a less expensive option to support the best player in baseball, Albert Pujols.

As far as the 2010 season is concerned, they can afford to pay Holliday close to $20 million if they chose to. But beyond 2010, a salary of that size could be difficult to dole out since Pujols will be due for an extension, and will presumably command over $200 million dollars over the length of his next contract.

Can they afford to donate $40-plus million, or nearly half of their payroll, to two immensely talented players over a long period of time? I believe, if they want to succeed offensively, they have no choice but to.

In order to woo Holliday back and retain Pujols longterm, they have some other business to take care of first. On top of the nine free agents, manager Tony La Russa, one of the best managers in the game, doesn’t have a contract for next season.

Neither does his pitching coach, Dave Duncan, who was disgruntled this season by the ownership’s handling of his son, outfielder Chris Duncan, who was traded from the Cardinals to the Boston Red Sox for shortstop Julio Lugo in late July.

General Manager John Mozeliak expects both to return with contracts in hand, but if La Russa decides to jump ship after a disappointing finish to the season, it can be expected that Duncan will follow, considering he has been by La Russa’s for the past 25 years.

The loss of La Russa and Duncan would be demoralizing for the Cardinals. Not only would the team lose a manager that has ingeniously led their franchise to a World Series title and eight National League Central titles in 13 years, but also a pitching coach that has developed four pitchers into Cy Young winners and resurrected many others.

If Duncan leaves, will pitchers feel tentative about signing with the Cardinals? Will Pujols and/or Holliday be hesitant to re-sign because of the loss of La Russa?

Mozeliak better make sure La Russa and Duncan stay with St. Louis, because if they do re-up, the Cardinals would retain their credibility and have far less to worry about heading into next year.

Holliday, Pineiro, and DeRosa will be their main priorities on the diamond and, like La Russa and Duncan, to avoid taking a step backwards, the Cardinals ownership has to dole out the cash necessary if they want to seriously contend in 2010 and beyond.

Not re-signing Holliday would make little sense, not only because of his undeniable talent, but because it is slim pickings on the free-agent market as far as corner outfielders are concerned.

The Los Angeles Angels’ Bobby Abreu is a solid hitter and would be a smart Plan-B, but he will be 36 next March and is leaning towards re-signing with the Angels.

Carl Crawford will also be available, but he’s built on more speed than power, and power is what the Cardinals need out of their left-fielder. He is expected to re-sign with the Tampa Bay Rays, so he’s out of the question anyway