St. Louis, MO (SportsNetwork.com) - Outfielder Carlos Beltran was the lone member of the St. Louis Cardinals' pending group of free agents to receive a qualifying offer from the National League champions prior to Monday's deadline.
The move enables the Cardinals to receive a compensatory selection between the first and second rounds of next June's First-Year Player Draft should Beltran reject the one-year, $14.1 million tender by Nov. 11. General manager John Mozeliak told MLB.com Monday that he does not expect the veteran right fielder, who is believed to be seeking a multi-year contract, to accept the offer.
Beltran put together a pair of strong seasons after signing a two-year, $26- million deal with the Cardinals in December of 2011. He swatted 32 homers and knocked in 97 runs over 151 games in his first year with St. Louis, then followed up with a 24-homer, 84-RBI campaign in which he batted .296.
The 36-year-old was also outstanding in the playoffs, batting .309 with five homers and 20 RBI over 28 postseason games with the Cardinals.
Pitcher Chris Carpenter and shortstop Rafael Furcal, both of whom missed all of last season due to injuries, were not extended qualifying offers along with reliever Edward Mujica, who was displaced by Trevor Rosenthal as St. Louis' closer during the course of the year.
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