I wouldn’t say the Cardinals were banking on their bullpen success on whether or not they got Colorado free agent Brian Fuentes as their closer, but this is certainly a blow to Tony LaRussa and Dave Duncan who were high on the lefty.
Fuentes decided to return to his home state of California and sign with the Los Angeles Angels who inked a two year deal for $17.5 million. With Francisco Rodriquez leaving the Angels for the Mets and Kerry Wood moving from Chicago to Cleveland, it may appear now that the Cardinals will look for a closer internally with Chris Perez, Jason Motte, perhaps, if he’s healthy, Jason Isringhausen.