I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and long weekend. I battled some junk the last couple of days and haven't been online at all, which is unheard of for me!
Obviously I picked the right days to be unplugged, since absolutely nothing happened over that time span. That'll change today, though, as it's the
deadline for offering arbitration.
Russ Springer, Braden Looper, Jason Isringhausen are the big ones that have to be decided, due to their Type A or B status. There's no way Izzy gets arbitration, mainly because of the 20% cut limitation. Izzy's contract for next year is going to be a lot less, no matter who hires him.
I'd probably offer to both Looper and Springer. Looper isn't likely to come back for a one year deal, so he'd decline and you'd get the draft pick. Even if he does, having him around for insurance couldn't be a terrible thing.
As Leach notes in his article, Springer could be a question mark, but I think you offer to him because odds are he's going to come back to St. Louis anyway. If he doesn't, then you've got the picks, especially since he's Type A.
After everyone sorts out the arbitration stuff, I think we'll hear more about moves, etc. I honestly expect the Cardinals to sign Edgar Renteria once the Tigers decline to offer him. Between this and next week's Winter Meetings, the stove is going to start cranking soon!
Remember, we've got another UCB radio show this Wednesday at 10:00 pm. More on that tomorrow!
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