Will the Cardinals start Rick Ankiel in center field or will they rush prized prospect Colby Rasmus to the majors? This question likely won’t be answered until sometime during spring training. If Colby Rasmus is ready the Cardinals will likely let him have the job. He was outstanding in AA last season as he played in 128 games and he was 130 for 472 (.275 avg, .932 OPS) with 93 runs scored, 29 homers, 72 RBIs and 18 stolen bases. Ankiel will either start in RF or CF next season for the Cardinals. He’s better suited defensively for a corner outfield slot. The 28 year old lefty swinger played in 47 games last season for the Cardinals and he was 49 for 172 (.285 avg, .863 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 11 homers and 39 RBIs. It will be interesting to see how Ankiel handles the accusations that he bought HGH in the past as he didn’t play well at all after the reports came out.

The Cardinals have acquired Troy Glaus from the Blue Jays for Scott Rolen pending both players passing a physical tomorrow. The Cardinals just couldn’t afford the soap opera between manager Tony LaRussa and Scott Rolen to go on any more so that was one of the main reasons for the trade. The Cardinals defense will take a hit with Glaus replacing Rolen….but Glaus has a huge power bat and he will protect Albert Pujols in the lineup as long as he can stay healthy. Glaus played in 115 games last season for the Blue Jays and he was 101 for 385 (.262 avg, .839 OPS) with 60 runs scored, 20 homers and 62 RBIs. Glaus has now played in 1,244 games in his major league career and he is 1,124 for 4,425 (.254 avg, .858 OPS) with 766 runs scored, 277 homers, 778 RBIs and 56 stolen bases.

The Cardinals have signed 29-year old righty swinging Josh Phelps to a minor league contract. Phelps played in 94 games last season for the Yankees and Pirates and he was 48 for 157 (.306 avg) with 21 runs scored, 7 homers and 31 RBIs. Phelps has now played in 446 games in his major league career and he is 371 for 1,360 (.273 avg, .820 OPS) with 194 runs scored, 64 homers and 243 RBIs. This was a good signing for the Cards as Phelps will give them a nice power bat off of the bench next season.

The St. Louis Cardinals have signed righty starter Matt Clement to a 1-year contract with an option for the 2009 season. Clement did not pitch last season as he was recovering from surgery. He has now pitched in 238 games (236 starts) in his major league career and he is 87-86 with a 4.47 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. The Cardinals love signing pitchers to deals like this one as they have benefitted from this kind of deal with Chris Carpenter in the past.