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Carlos Beltran

December 24, 2011 by · Comments Off on Carlos Beltran 

Carlos BeltranCarlos Beltran, The World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals have been trying to fortify the team’s lineup after Albert Pujols’ departure, so they talked to Carlos Beltran in order to convince him to join the squad. According to Huffington Post, Carlos Beltran signed a 2-year deal with the Cardinals on Thursday night.

St. Louis Cardinal will officially announce the contract after the holidays. So far, reporters have only found out that the deal will cost the Cardinals $26 million over the next two years. The details were revealed by an anonymous person who wishes to remain unknown because the team did not furnish any information in relation to the financial details of the contract.

Beltran has a very good career history. Only this year he batted .300 with 22 home runs, 84 RBIs and a .385 on-base percentage for the New York Mets and San Francisco Giants. Sports analysts think Beltran will be the opening-day right fielder during the Cardinals’ next season. Lance Berkman, on the other hand, will move to first base where he will occupy Pujols’ spot. This way, the team’s new manager, Mike Matheny, will gain lineup flexibility because Beltran and Berkman are switch-hitters.

There have been various changes in St. Louis Cardinals during the past months. Earlier this month, Rafael Furcal re-signed a two-year contract with the team which is worth $14 million. Left-handed reliever J.C. Romero was also added at the beginning of the month with a one-year contract that amounts to $750,000. Judging by these modifications, it looks like the squad only needs a few more spare parts until it could finalize the roster.

Beltran began his career in 1998 when he played for the cross-state Royals, three years after he was drafted by Kansas City in the second round. St. Louis general manager John Mozeliak told reporters that Beltran has proved his talent as an outfielder; in fact, he has always been “a tough opponent against the Cardinals for many years”, said Mozeliak. The general manager stated that he thinks the following two years will be prolific for the Cardinals because the team will have Beltran on their side and not on the rival’s side.

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