Cardinals Rumors: Pujols, Backup Catcher, Berkman

On Wednesday night, we heard that the Cardinals would like to add some pitching depth to supplement their current staff. As we enter the early hours of Thursday morning, let's take a look at some other Cardinals notes:

• Jayson Stark of ESPN.com discusses Albert Pujols' contract negotiations, wondering if the Cardinals will be able to fit an Alex Rodriguez-esque contract into their budget. Within the piece, Tony La Russa reiterates that Pujols doesn't want negotiations to leak into spring training, leading Stark to conclude that if the two sides don't reach an agreement within the next ten weeks, Pujols will be heading for free agency.
• Speaking to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, however, Cards chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. said he wasn't feeling any urgency about a Pujols extension.
• Goold writes that the team believed they were close to a deal for a backup catcher before talks faltered late Tuesday night. As of Wednesday, the Cardinals' search for a catcher was in a "holding pattern," according to GM John Mozeliak. St. Louis has been linked to names such as Bengie Molina and Gregg Zaun so far at the Winter Meetings.
• La Russa told Goold that the Cardinals may go into the year with newly-signed Lance Berkman in right field and Matt Holliday in left, rather than vice versa as initially thought.