Cardinals Have Tough Arbitration Decisions to Make

Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the Cardinals have some tough decisions to make regarding two of their four arbitration-eligible players.

With the arbitration deadline looming tonight, St. Louis must decide who it wants to keep and who it can stand to lose. Here are Goold’s breakdown of the Cards’ eligible players:

- St. Louis will certainly offer arbitration to Type A free agent left fielder Matt Holliday. Holliday is a top priority to re-sign this offseason, and if he winds up somewhere else, the Cards need to receive compensation (first round draft pick) for him.

- The team will not offer arbitration to third baseman Troy Glaus, because he’s coming off shoulder surgery and will probably not be worth the money they’d have to pay him should he accept arbitration.

- Starting pitcher and Type B free agent Joel Pineiro is a much tougher decision. Pineiro, 31, was 15-12 with a 3.49 ERA last season, when he made $7.5 million. He’d likely receive over $10 million in arbitration.

- Infielder Mark DeRosa is another difficult one for the Cardinals. DeRosa is a much lower priority than re-signing Holliday, but he could be part of a back-up plan should Holliday sign with another team.

Read the full post here.