The St. Louis Cardinals are going to try their best to bring Albert Pujols back over this winter, but there is serious competition for his services in the Marlins and possibly the Cubs. Other than that, I see the Cardinals only doing minor tinkering on the roster. Here are three free agents that make sense for the Cardinals:

1. Jason Varitek - The Cardinals could use a decent backup catcher so that Yadier Molina gets the time off he needs during the year. Varitek would be a nice fit.

2. Mike Gonzalez - The Cardinals could use a solid lefty reliever and Gonzalez fits that mold when he’s healthy.

3. Lyle Overbay - Lyle Overbay would give the Cardinals a decent bat off the bench and insurance just in case Albert Pujols decides to leave.

31-year old righty swinging 1B Albert Pujols finished 5th in the voting for the 2011 N.L. MVP Award. He played in 147 games for the Cardinals in 2011 and he was 173 of 579 (.299 avg, .906 OPS) with 105 runs scored, 37 homers, 99 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. Pujols has now played in 1,705 games in his first 11 years in the majors and he is 2,073 of 6,312 (.328 avg, 1.037 OPS) with 1,291 runs scored, 445 homers, 1,329 RBIs and 84 stolen bases.

35-year old switch-hitting RF Lance Berkman finished 7th in the voting for the 2011 N.L. MVP Award. He played in 145 games for the Cardinals last year and he was 147 of 488 (.301 avg, .959 OPS) with 90 runs scored, 31 homers, 94 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Berkman has now played in 1,774 games in his first 13 years in the major leagues and he is 1,822 of 6,154 (.296 avg, .954 OPS) with 1,107 runs scored, 358 homers, 1,193 RBIs and 84 stolen bases. Berkman also won the N.L. Comeback Player of the Year Award this year as he was outstanding for the Cardinals in 2011.

29-year old righty swinging catcher Yadier Molina of the St. Louis Cardinals finished tied for 21st in the 2011 N.L. MVP Voting with fellow catcher Miguel Montero of the Diamondbacks. Molina played in 139 games for the Cardinals last year and he was 145 of 475 (.305 avg, .814 OPS) with 55 runs scored, 14 homers, 65 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. He has now played in 944 games in his first 8 years with the Cardinals and he is 863 of 3,155 (.274 avg, .707 OPS) with 278 runs scored, 55 homers, 390 RBIs and 25 stolen bases. The Cardinals have picked up Molina’s 2012 option which is a good thing. His defense and handling of the Cardinals’ pitching staff is top notch.

The St. Louis Cardinals have named 41-year old former catcher Mike Matheny as their new manager. The Cardinals have went from the most experience manager in baseball (Tony LaRussa) to the least experience one as Matheny has never managed a game yet. He played 5 years for the Cardinals in which he played in 622 games in which he was 475 for 1,939 (.245 avg, .644 OPS) with 185 runs scored, 29 homers, 221 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He also won 3 Gold Gloves in his career with the Cardinals. He retired after the 2006 season due to concussion related problems. It will be interesting to see how Matheny handles the pressure of replacing Tony LaRussa on a team that is defending a World Championship, in his first season on the job.