Cardinals Update: Wainwright, Pujols, and Westbrook

-Adam Wainright was named the runner-up for the 2010 Cy Young Award. Wainwright pitched the first 20 win season of his career in 2010 (with a 20-11 record), had a career best 2.42 ERA, and a career high 213 strike-outs (topping his 212 strike-outs in 2009).

-General Manager John Mozeliak hinted that the contract extension talks between the Cardinals and Albert Pujols will heat up within the next month. Pujols will become a free-agent after the 2011 if the Cardinals fail to re-sign him to an extension. The contract figures to be the biggest in Cardinals history, and it will likely make him a Cardinal for the rest of his career.

-On another note, the Cardinals signed starting pitcher Jake Westbrook to a 2-year deal. Westbrook was obtained before the trade deadline in 2010, in a deal that sent right-fielder Ryan Ludwick to the San Diego Padres.

The signing of Westbrook is a positive, because had they let him walk then they would basically be getting nothing out of trading Ryan Ludwick. Although, the Cardinals have to recognize that their pitching rotation was not the problem; they need to address they offense at some point, and it would probably be more reliable to do so via free-agency, as oppose to depending on a farm player with no experience.