Smoltz To Sign With Cardinals

10:59pm: From Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "Smoltz will accept the Cardinals' offer to join the club as its fifth starter after clearing waivers at noon CST [Wednesday], barring an unforeseen waiver claim."  The Cards will be on the hook for only about $100K.  Smoltz will work as the team's fifth starter, at least initially.

8:18pm: Jayson Stark of ESPN is reporting that Smoltz is "strongly leaning" toward signing with the Cardinals. He has told friends that he is planning to make a decision on Wednesday.

Stark writes that the Dodgers, Marlins, and Rangers were also in pursuit of Smoltz. He adds that the Cards will use Smoltz as a set-up man for Ryan Franklin.

5:10pm: MLB.com's Todd Zolecki confirmed the Cardinals' interest in Smoltz on Twitter and added that the Phillies "aren't interested."

9:04am: Cardinals GM John Mozeliak confirmed to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he has "legitimate interest" in John Smoltz. Another official described the team's interest as "very serious." The Red Sox released the righty yesterday, and he's set to become a free agent tomorrow, at which point any team can sign him for the pro-rated major league minimum.