2012 MLB Free Agents: St. Louis Cardinals Must Go All-Out for Carlos Beltran

While the Cardinals are in a good position to win the National League Central, their offense is now dealing with a major void. If they are going to cement their status as kings of the Central, and maintain in contention to win the World Series, they will need another bat. That bat is Carlos Beltran.

According to a tweet by Jon Heyman of CBSSports, the Cardinals are ramping up talks with Beltran. 

This would make the Cardinals the easy favorites in the division. They have the outfield depth that is needed for a player like Beltran.

The biggest concern with Beltran is his health. That's why the best fit for him is an American League team, or a National League team that can give him some time off. That's the Cardinals. 

The numbers that he accrued in New York (and then San Francisco) will certainly translate to the Cardinals. The National League Central is filled with hitter's parks. A guy who hit .280 over seven seasons in New York and .323 in San Francisco will not dramatically drop off in St. Louis. 

In six full seasons with the Mets, he averaged better than 22 homers a year. That includes 2009 and 2010, where he combined for 17 home runs. The 15 blasts that he hit in 98 games with the Mets shows that he can still pop the ball. 

Even without Pujols, the Cardinals would have better hitters around Beltran than either the Mets or Giants did, and they play in a park that favors the hitter much more than San Francisco or New York does.

Beltran is a legitimate heart of the order threat. He's a good gap-to-gap hitter, but still possess the kind of power that has to be respected. 

The talent around him will allow Beltran to get consistently good pitches and will drive in runs. 

There's no replacing a guy like Albert Pujols. But bringing Beltran in would keep the Cardinals atop the division on a consistent basis. When that happens, success in the playoffs is significantly easier.

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