John Smoltz As Brad Thompson for St. Louis Cardinals

With Ryan Ludwick having signed a deal for 2010 and Skip Schumaker getting close , what little room remains in the Cardinals' payroll is coming into better focus.

There still are a few loose ends on the roster: third base, reserve outfielder, fifth starter, another right-handed reliever. The latter two could tied down with one guy: John Smoltz.

Smoltz, who has indicated a willingness to return to St. Louis, could provide insurance at the No. 5 spot in the rotation as well as in the bullpen. If one of the team's current crop of kids—Jaime Garcia, Blake Hawksworth, Mitchell Boggs, Kyle McClellan—can't stake their claim as a starter, then you have Smoltz to the rescue.

But if La Russa decides to go young, then Smoltz can provide relief help, particularly if Ryan Franklin falters again in the closer's role.

Basically, Smoltz can fill the swingman role that Brad Thompson has played for the past few seasons and likely do it much better than Brad Thompson ever did.

But how much can the Cardinals offer him? Assuming* Schumaker will get about $2 million and slight raises for arbitration-ineligible players, I estimate the payroll to be about $93M with 24 players (which is based on iffy assumptions* about the ever-fluid bullpen and bench). And assuming* a $100M ceiling , that leaves about $7M worth of dry powder.

*You know what they say about assuming things.

But the Cardinals may need to expedite things, as their other bullpen options are dwindling: Octavio Dotel has signed with the Pirates , and the Cubs are hot to trot for old friend Kiko Calero.

This article first appeared at Five O'Clock Blogger .