Guess what the Cardinal Fans got for Christmas this year, Carlos Beltran! The deal is for two years at $26mil, there is also a no trade clause in his contract. The contract is pending on the results of a physical. I really like this signing. Fills the void of Pujols being gone. With his bat in the line up the Cardinals become favorites in the NL Central.
Here is more information about the deal according to MLB.com
A switch-hitting outfielder, Beltran has one of baseball's most well-rounded offensive games. He is a lifetime .283 hitter with both on-base ability (a career .361 average) and power (.496 slugging percentage). He's one of the most efficient base-stealers in Major League history, with 293 steals in 334 attempts for an 87.7 percent success rate. In 2011, he put up a combined .300/.385/.525 line in 142 games with the Mets and Giants.
The 34-year-old native of Puerto Rico will add depth to a Cardinals lineup that will be without Albert Pujols in 2012. Pujols signed with the Angels as a free agent earlier in December.
Beltran, a three-time Gold Glove winner in center field, moved to right field in 2011 as he made his way back to full strength from knee surgery. He will likely start the 2011 season in right field, with Lance Berkman moving to first base, while Allen Craig is out due to his own offseason knee operation.
Once Craig comes back, Beltran would probably still play plenty of right field. But he also could get more time in center field, spelling Jon Jay against left-handed pitchers and allowing new manager Mike Matheny a great deal of flexibility in making out his lineup.
Best known in St. Louis as the victim of Adam Wainwright's strikeout that ended the 2006 National League Championship Series, Beltran has an extensive history with the Redbirds. He also starred in the 2004 NLCS in which the Cards edged the Astros in seven games, and faced them both as an NL player as well as in Interleague Play, when he was with Kansas City.
source: Matthew Leach
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