6-29 DeRosa

DeRosa heading out west to sign with SF. (Bill Greenblatt, UPI STL)

It is expected that Mark DeRosa will sign a new two year deal with the San Francisco Giants today as the Cardinals missed out in re-signing DeRosa while their eggs sit in the Matt Holliday basket. After thinking about this, I’m not too concerned with DeRo not coming back to St. Louis.

There is no doubt DeRosa was one of the missing pieces the Cardinals needed when they traded Chris Perez to Cleveland for the versatile DeRosa. Shortly after DeRosa arrived, the Cardinals got Holliday and the team took off. DeRosa played left field until Holliday’s arrival and then stepped in a third base. He hit 10 homers with the Cardinals and finished the season with 23, despite a sore wrist.  Now, DeRosa was never known as a big home run hitter either, but let’s be honest, DeRosa only hit .228 in his 68 games with the Cards so the wrist injury became an issue.

He is going to be 35 by the start of next year and coming off wrist surgery to repair the ruptured tendon sheath in his wrist.  That happened in a game against San Francisco and because hitters rely so much on their wrists, I think it will take a long time for DeRosa to feel comfortable at the plate in 2010. Besides the Cardinals have other options. They’ve got interest in Felipe Lopez, who hit .385 as a late season acquisition by the team.

John Mozeliak needs to figure out left field soon, whether it’s Holliday or another free agent like Xavier Nady or Jermaine Dye. If the Cardinals enter spring training with the same question marks in left field and third base as they did entering 2009, this upcoming season will be another struggle.