Carlos Beltran declines qualifying offer from St. Louis Cardinals

As expected, Carlos Beltran declined a qualifying offer from St. Louis Cardinals on Monday. This will ensure that the Cardinals will get a compensation pick during the first round of next June’s amateur MLB Draft. It should be noted that the first ten picks of the draft are protected.
Oct 28, 2013; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals right fielder Carlos Beltran (3) talks with Boston Red Sox first baseman David Ortiz (right) after hitting a single during the second inning of game five of the MLB baseball World Series at Busch Stadium. Image Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
In two seasons with the Cardinals, Beltran hit .282/.343/.493 with 56 home runs, 181 RBI, 56 doubles, and 162 runs, to name a few.

As it stands, the first 10 picks belong to:
1.Houston Astros
2. Miami Marlins
3. Chicago White Sox
4. Chicago Cubs
5. Minnesota Twins
6. Seattle Mariners
7. Philadelphia Phillies
8. Colorado Rockies
9. Toronto Blue Jays
10. New York Mets

If a team has a protected pick, they forfeit their second pick of the draft. If Beltran were to sign with the Yankees, the Cardinals would get the 18th pick or one in Comp Round A because of how many free agents they tend to sign every offseason.

Shelby Miller finished third in NL Rookie of the Year voting, losing out to NL ROY Jose Fernandez of the Miami Marlins. Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig finished in second.

Bernie asked the same thing that the UCB did last week. What do the Cardinals do with third baseman David Freese? Unless Freese is traded, he becomes just another bat off the bench. With Kolten Wong at 2nd and Matt Carpenter at 3rd, there is no room for Freese as an everyday starter.