Despite how many years Schmidt wants, he would be an idiot not to sign because of one year. The Cards have been one of the best teams in the NL over the past few years if not THE best. Carpenter then Schmidt would give one of the best 1-2 combos in recent memory. Also pitching with a good defense behind you and the game's best all around player providing offense has to help too. If you want to win, drop a year and play for a ring.The Cardinals are targeting free agent Jason Schmidt, though they may not go beyond three years to sign him.
"There's a question of how far we go, but we're going," GM Walt Jocketty said. "We'd like to have him." Agent Randy Hendricks said Schmidt was receptive to St. Louis, and that the team's reluctance to go beyond three years wouldn't be much of a problem. However, it appears likely that Schmidt will get $60 million over four years from some team, perhaps the Cubs or the Dodgers.