The Cardinals offered salary arbitration to only two of their remaining seven free agents by Friday night's deadline, though the decision doesn't carry the same weight it did in previous years.
St. Louis offered arbitration to starting pitchers Mark Mulder and Jeff Suppan, while declining to offer to pitchers Jason Marquis and Jeff Weaver, infielders Ronnie Belliard and Jose Vizcaino and outfielder Preston Wilson. Under the rules of the new collective bargaining agreement, the Cardinals still do not forfeit the right to negotiate with any of the free agents at any point, whether they were offered arbitration or not.
Of the various decisions, the only one that could be considered at all a surprise was Weaver. The right-hander remains very much on the Cardinals' radar, and there seems to be a decent chance he will receive more than a one-year offer somewhere. Weaver received $8.325 million in base salary in 2006, a number that may have scared the Cards off for a 2007 arbitration hearing.
Suppan seems highly unlikely to accept arbitration, given that he is believed to be mulling offers of as long as four years. However, he has definitely not ruled out a return to St. Louis. His agent, Scott Leventhal, has had "amicable discussions" with the Cardinals.
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Arbitration offered to Suppan, Mulder
Arbitration offered to Suppan, Mulder
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