According to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "there are suggestions that the Cardinals discussed a 6-year, $96 million framework with [Matt] Holliday's agent, Scott Boras."
The note is buried in a chat that took place earlier this afternoon and is barely addressed beyond the words above, so giving it too much credence might be irresponsible. That said, Strauss is as close to the Cardinals' thinking as anyone, and it's at least worth talking about.
The figure — six years, $96MM — probably won't come close to getting a deal done. Boras, in all likelihood, will want more years and a higher annual salary. He has been adamant in comparing Holliday's value to that of Mark Teixeira, who struck an eight-year, $180MM deal last winter with the Yankees. There are suitors out there with holes to fill and cash to spend, and a contract that doesn't crack $100MM isn't likely to catch the eye of Boras and Co.
Holliday, who turns 30 this winter, batted .313/.394/.515 with 24 home runs and 109 RBI in 581 plate appearances during the 2009 regular season. 13 of those home runs and 55 of those RBI came in his 63 games with the Cardinals.
