Carlos Beltran has agreed with the St. Louis Cardinals on a two-year deal worth $26 million. The deal is pending a physical and is said to include a full no-trade clause, according to MLBTraderumors.com. While not exactly a perfect answer for Pujols leaving, the signing of Beltran will keep the Cardinals a contender in the 2012 season.
According to MLBTraderumors.com, the Giants will not be receiving a draft pick for Beltran’s Type A free agent status and the Cardinals will not have to give up one.
“Though Beltran was a Type A free agent, the Giants will not receive a compensatory draft pick since they weren’t allowed to offer him arbitration due to a clause in Beltran’s previous contract with the Mets. The Cardinals, as well, don’t have to give up any draft picks for the signing.”
Beltran is out of Puerto Rico and was a 2nd round draft pick in the 1995 MLB draft by the Kansas City Royals. He is a .283/.361/.496 career hitter over his 14 seasons with the Royals, Astros, Mets and Giants with 302 home runs, 390 doubles, 73 triples, 1146 RBI and 293 stolen bases. He recently picked up his stats after being traded from the Mets to the Giants in 2011 batting .323/.361/.551 for San Francisco. He is currently represented by Dan Lozano and Icon Sports Group.
