The St. Louis Cardinals have a lot of work to do if they are going to replace Albert Pujols in the middle of their lineup. They will never be able to replace Pujols, but they can certainly find players who are capable of putting up some decent numbers.

They found one of those players last night when they signed Carlos Beltran to a two-year, $26 million contract. The contract comes with a full no-trade clause for Beltran according to Derrick Gould of the St. Louis Post Dispatch.

Beltran hit .300/.385/.525 with 22 HR’s in 598 PA’s between the New York Mets and San Francisco Giants in 2011. His 598 PA’s were the most PA’s Beltran has had in one season since 2008.

Signing Beltran to a two-year deal is risky considering Beltran’s injury history, but the Cardinals have done well with these types of players before. Everyone thought Lance Berkman was a risk when the Cardinals signed him last year and look how that turned out. If Beltran turns into Berkman Part Deux, the Cardinals will be very pleased.

Look for Beltran to play right, with Berkman at first, and John Jay in center. Beltran could move to center once Allen Craig comes back, but I think the Cardinals will be pressing their luck with that one.

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By The Baseball Index