The Cardinals have released infielder Scott Spiezio due to off field problems. Spiezio played in 81 games last season for the Cardinals and he was 60 for 223 (.269 avg, .740 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 4 homers and 31 RBIs. Spiezio has now played in 1,273 games in his major league career and he is 996 for 3,899 (.255 avg, .748 OPS) with 517 runs scored, 119 homers and 549 RBIs. Look for Josh Phelps to pick up the at bats that Spiezio would have gotten.

The Cardinals catchers aren’t the best hitters around but they have excellent throwing arms and call good games. The starter is 25-year old righty swinging Yadier Molina. Molina played in 111 games last season for the Cardinals and he was 97 for 353 (.275 avg, .708 OPS) with 30 runs scored, 6 homers and 40 RBIs. Molina stops the opposing running game as he threw out an amazing 50% of the runners that tried to steal on him last season. Cardinals pitchers had a 4.33 ERA throwing to him which was exceptional when you consider how bad the Cardinals pitching staff was last season.

34-year old Jason LaRue has not hit over .200 since 2005 with the Reds but last season was especially painful to watch. He played in 66 games for the Royals and he was 25 for 169 (.148 avg, .512 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 4 homers and 13 RBIs. He also whiffed an amazing 66 times! LaRue did throw out 33% of the runners that tried to steal on him and Royals pitchers had a 4.76 ERA when he was catching.

34-year old lefty swinging Mark Johnson has been brought in by the Cardinals but he probably won’t make it past AAA-ball unless Molina or LaRue get injured. Johnson last played in the majors in 2004 with the Brewers. He has played in 322 games in his major league career and he is 199 for 917 (.217 avg, .631 OPS) with 114 runs scored, 16 homers and 81 RBIs.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: C

The Cardinals have signed 38-year old lefty reliever Ron Villone to a minor league contract. He pitched in 37 games (0 starts) last season for the Yankees and he was 0-0 with a 4.25 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. Villone has now pitched in 580 games (93 starts) in his major league career and he is 55-57 with 6 saves, a 4.76 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. This was a nice move by the Cardinals who could use some more help in the bullpen.

The St. Louis Cardinals better hope that Troy Glaus stays healthy as he’s the only impact player that the Cardinals brought in to help the offense. The Cardinals also brought in Cesar Izturis to take over as the starting shortstop. He’s a better defender than David Eckstein but he’s not as good of a hitter. Jason LaRue, Josh Phelps, D’Angelo Jimenez and Juan Gonzalez were brought in to fight for bench spots but none of them is expected to have a huge impact. Rehabbing righty starting pitcher Matt Clement was the only pitcher who could make an impact that was brought in by the Cardinals.

OFF SEASON GRADE FOR THE FRONT OFFICE: D-

The Cardinals have signed 38-year old outfielder Juan Gonzalez to a minor league contract. He will battle for a starting outfield corner spot on the Cardinals for the 2008 season. The odds are against him as he last played in 2005 with the Cleveland Indians and he only lasted one game and 1 at bat before injuring his hamstring and missing the remainder of the season. His last full season was in 2001 so the chances of him staying healthy all season is remote. Gonzalez has played in 1,689 games in his major league career and he is 1,936 for 6,556 (.295 avg, .904 OPS) with 1,061 runs scored, 434 homers and 1,404 RBIs. Signing Gonzalez was a low risk/high reward signing for the Cardinals.

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