Cardinals General Manager John Mozeliak conducted a Q&A session with fans this afternoon. Here are some highlights courtesy of Joe Strauss (via Twitter) and Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, as well as Matthew Leach of MLB.com…
- Mozeliak says that discussions with Skip Schumaker and Ryan Ludwick – both of whom are arbitration eligible – are confined to one season. Ludwick had a down year in 2009 as he turned in an OPS of .775, his lowest as a Cardinal. The two parties avoided arbitration last year by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $3.7MM. The figure was an even compromise as the outfielder requested $4.25MM and the organization submitted $2.8MM. Meanwhile, Schumaker is arbitration eligible for the first time in his career and should see a pay bump as he has had similar offensive production this season at second base after moving in from the outfield.
- The return of Rick Ankiel would be a "longshot" according to Mozeliak as the club cannot offer him the at-bats that he wants. We haven't heard any word of Ankiel being close to signing with a club, but his agent Scott Boras claims to be having "a lot of conversation" about the 30-year-old.
- St. Louis is not entertaining the idea of inviting Jim Edmonds to camp. The 39-year-old last played in 2008 for the Padres and the Cubs, where he posted .235/.343/.479 and 20 HRs in 401 plate appearances.
- Mozeliak confirmed that the club will watch Ben Sheets throw next week, though Leach writes that he's not likely to be a fit for St. Louis.
