Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports takes a look at what lies in store for the St. Louis Cardinals this winter. A few of his thoughts:
- Despite the Cardinals' desire to sign Albert Pujols to a lengthy extension this winter, a reliable source tells Rosenthal that there is virtually no chance a deal happens so quickly.
- Rosenthal speculates that the Cardinals' chances of retaining Pujols past 2011 aren't great. The first baseman will likely use Alex Rodriguez's $275MM contract as a benchmark, and might want to sign with a club "that would operate with fewer financial restrictions than the Cardinals."
- Rosenthal suggests attempting to re-sign Matt Holliday, but not exceeding about $90MM over five years to do it. The thinking is that the Cards likely can't afford to commit over $100MM to Holliday and over $200MM to Pujols.
- An alternative to signing Holliday would be pursuing Jason Bay or bargain-hunting for this offseason's Bobby Abreu.
- St. Louis should make re-signing Mark DeRosa a priority.
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