Could Rangers star Michael Young land with the Cardinals? It wouldn’t make much sense for the Cards because Young is signed for three more years at $16 million per year. If the Cardinals are able to sign Albert Pujols to a new contract, they’ll have to make some tough payroll decisions for 2012 and beyond even if they don’t add another eight-figure salary. Bringing in a player with a deal like Young’s would eliminate pretty much any payroll flexibility to do much of anything to the roster for the next three years. However, if Young were still the player he once was, you might still be able to justify giving away that flexibility. But he’s not. Young’s power, once a big part of his game, has just about vanished — he’s slugged .444 or lower in three of the past four seasons. He’s also declined significantly in the field, and he turned 34 during the playoffs. So you’d be giving up talent to acquire a player in his age 34-36 seasons when that player has already begun to decline in his age 30-33 seasons. And you’d be paying him $16 million a year for three years while you were at it. Young is far from a useless player; that’s not the point. It’s just that taking on his contract, while giving up talent in order to do so, is not a move that would make sense for the Cardinals. — Cardinals.com
