The Cardinals have signed 35-year old lefty reliever Trever Miller. Miller pitched in 68 games (0 starts) for the Tampa Bay Rays last season and he was 2-0 with 2 saves, a 4.15 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. He was the first lefty out of the bullpen for the American League Champions last season and he will have the same role with the Cardinals in 2009. Miller has now pitched in 519 games (5 starts) in his major league career and he is 14-14 with 10 saves, a 4.43 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. Miller does have an issue with throwing strikes as he has walked 198 batters in only 422.1 innings in his major league career but look for Dave Duncan and Tony LaRussa to help fix that problem. Signing Miller was a good move because it frees up more money for the Cardinals to fix bigger holes…..like shortstop for instance.

The Cardinals have some work to do in free agency to solidify the roster for 2009. The Cardinals need a shortstop but Felipe Lopez might be pricing himself out of St. Louis. With that in mind the Cardinals will likely try to bring back Edgar Renteria and that would be a very good thing. The Cardinals could also be in on Orlando Cabrera at SS if they lose out on Renteria and Lopez. The Cardinals could also use a LF with some pop and they will likely consider Raul Ibanez, Garret Anderson, Eric Hinske and Juan Rivera. The Cardinals need a closer and they will likely be bidding on Kerry Wood, Trevor Hoffman and Brian Fuentes. The Cardinals wouldn’t mind bringing back Russ Springer or Jason Isringhausen at their price, but, both of them could have a market. The Cardinals might take a flier on Eric Gagne or Chad Cordero if the price is right. Braden Looper might price himself out of St. Louis and they might need a starting pitcher. Look for them to go bargain shopping for a #5 starter with Brad Penny, Paul Byrd, Pedro Martinez, Freddy Garcia and Jon Lieber being considered.

33-year old righty starting pitcher Chris Carpenter recently had ulnar nerve transposition surgery to his right elbow. The Cardinals hope that Carpenter will be ready to pitch when spring training comes around but that might be wishful thinking. Carpenter only pitched in 4 games (3 starts) for the Cardinals last season and he was 0-1 with a 1.76 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. Carpenter has pitched parts of five season for the Cardinals covering 98 games (97 starts) in which he is 51-20 with a 3.11 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. The Cardinals have really missed their ace the last couple of seasons and they need him if they are to get back to the post season.

The Cardinals have lost 28-year old righty Kelvin Jimenez on waivers to the Blue Jays. Jimenez pitched in 15 games (0 starts) for the Cardinals last season and he was 0-0 with a 5.63 ERA and a 1.79 WHIP. In two years in the majors Jimenez has pitched in 49 games (0 starts) in which he was 3-0 with a 6.82 ERA and a 1.76 WHIP. Jimenez has a good arm but if Dave Duncan can’t bring out the best in him then maybe no one can.

The Cardinals have re-signed 34-year old righty swinging catcher Jason LaRue to a 1-year, $950,000 contract. LaRue played in 61 games for the Cardinals last season and he was 35 for 164 (.213 avg, .644 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 4 homers and 21 RBIs. But, the Cardinals like how LaRue handles a pitching staff on defense and that’s likely why they re-signed him to backup Yadier Molina in 2009. LaRue has now played in 842 games in his major league career and he is 592 for 2,259 (.231 avg, .718 OPS) with 294 runs scored, 92 homers and 337 RBIs.