St. Louis Cardinals Inside Pitch 2008-12-22

While the Cardinals waited for left-handed reliever Brian Fuentes to decide whether he wants to sign with the Los Angeles Angels or St. Louis, Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said he would not allow the chase of Fuentes to "create a paralysis" within the club's bid for pitching help.

The Cardinals extended a two-year bid believed to be worth between $16 million and $18 million for Fuentes, who had voiced a preference to pitch for the Angels, a franchise much nearer his hometown of Merced, Calif. But Fuentes' decision was frozen, in part, because of the Angels' hot pursuit of free agent first baseman Mark Teixeira.

"From my end it's been a slow-moving process. It's a little bit frustrating," said Mozeliak, who was said to be reluctant to guarantee a third year to Fuentes. "The ball's in their court. We've worked on it. It's not that we don't want to negotiate anymore. But we're waiting for them."

Meanwhile, the Cardinals were said to be ready to investigate the availability of former Dodgers closer Takashi Saito. The Dodgers failed to offer Saito a contract, making the former NL All-Star a free agent. Saito was 12-7 with 81 saves and a 1.95 ERA in three seasons for Los Angeles but experienced elbow problems late in the 2008 season.

The 39-year-old Saito might be a stopgap as closer until either Chris Perez or Jason Motte is ready to assume the role.

The Cardinals also might explore a couple of pitchers who worked in Japan last year, Kenshin Kawakami and Koji Oehara, both of whom have won the Japanese equivalent of the Cy Young Award.

"It's something we have interest in as an organization," Mozeliak said of the Japanese options. "We believe we're on much better footing now."

Author: Fox Sports

Author's Website: http://www.foxsports.com

Added: December 22, 2008