Breaking News: Carlos Beltran signs 2-year deal
By Danielle
It just broke within the past 20 minutes or so that Carlos Beltran has signed a 2-year deal with the St. Louis Cardinals. This deal not only reunites him with Lance Berkman, his former Houston Astros teammate, but provides the opportunity for a reunion of the three guys involved with the Cardinals clinching the 2006 NLCS with a key strikeout–the other two being Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina.
The Post Dispatch reports that the contract is worth $26 million over two years, including a full no-trade protection. At his age of 35, and given his previous injuries, I don’t think it’s a bad deal for signing a former Rookie of The Year (1999) and a six-time All Star. He could have a season similar to what Lance Berkman did this past season when he won the National League Comeback Award.
In 2011, he split time between the New York Mets and the San Francisco Giants, where he hit 22 home runs and drove in 84 runs. Beltran rebounded his batting average to .300 from .255 the previous season.
It’s likely that Beltran will be starting the season in right field as Allen Craig will be out as he recovers from offseason knee surgery. The current speculation amongst Cardinal bloggers is that Beltran would platoon with Jon Jay in center field to provide a right-handed bat in the lineup. During the 2011 season, Beltran was playing exclusively in right field. The last time he played in center field was during the 2010 season.
There is a question of what jersey he will wear. Previously, he’s worn #15, which is now being worn by Rafael Furcal. There’s no way that he would be wearing #5.
My idea for the ceremonial first pitch is Adam Wainwright throwing to Yadier Molina with Carlos Beltran serving as the honorary batter.
Welcome to St. Louis, Carlos!
UPDATE: The organization has posted an official release.
"“Beltran is a proven outfielder who obviously has been a tough opponent against the Cardinals for many years.” said Cardinals’ Senior Vice President John Mozeliak. “It is going to be nice to have his bat and competitive nature working for us instead of on the other side of the field for the next couple of years.”"
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