No big surprise here that the St. Louis Cardinals have picked up the tab on a $16 million club option for Albert Pujols for next season.

The three time MVP led the NL in home run (42) and RBI (118) and was percentage points below Matt Holliday at .312 to lead the team in batting average. The big question is what happens after 2011, when Pujols is scheduled to become a free agent? Team officials said there is no timetable set for that.

In other contract news, The Cardinals announced that left-handed reliever Trever Miller had met a vesting option at $2 million for next season.