NL Central

It has been reported in various news sources that the 2010 Houston Astros first round draft pick, Delino DeShields Jr., was arrested in Athens, Georgia early Sunday morning and charged with driving under the influence, underage possession of alcohol, and an unspecified traffic violation.

In a year in which nine-figure deals became unsurprising to hear in breaking news columns and contract extensions were given out like they were samples of cheese at a grocery store, you would think the reigning National League Most Valuable Player award winner would receive more than $38 million over three years, wouldn't you?

The clock is ticking on the St. Louis Cardinals to come to terms on a contract extension with the best player the Cardinals have had since Stan "The Man" Musial retired in 1963.

Albert Pujols has set a firm deadline to agree to an extension by the start of spring training.

Should Pujols not receive an extension by that time, he will become a free agent after the 2011 season.

The Cincinnati Reds and Joey Votto have agreed to a three-year, $38 million contract. He can still become a free agent after the 2013 season is over.

Votto is the National League Most Valuable Player. In 2010, Votto hit .324/.424/.600 with 37 home runs and 113 RBI.

You can read about the other Reds moves this offseason, if you click here.

Here is everything you need to know about this deal.

Albert Pujols has told the St. Louis Cardinals he wants a new contract by the beginning of spring training, or he will sever negotiations and become a free agent in the fall, sources told ESPN the Magazine's Buster Olney.

The Cardinals exercised Pujols' option for next season in October, which will pay him $16 million. Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak refused to comment on the state of the negotiations Saturday.

Our 2011 fantasy baseball projections will be released one-by-one until the top 100 players have been revealed. These rankings consider past achievements, current performance and expected future results based on standard 5×5 H2H settings.

This is probably not the headline St. Louis Cardinal fans were hoping to see as they head towards the 2011 season. They were hoping to see a headline that read something like this, “Albert Pujols Signs 7-Year Extension.”

That headline still might happen, but if the Cardinals are going to make that happen, they better get a move on it.

Joey Votto is to Cincinnati what Albert Pujols is to St. Louis.  The Cincinnati Reds are trying to negotiate a long-term deal with Votto but so far, nothing has been signed.  They have already signed outfielder Jay Bruce to a long-term deal and Colorado’s Carlos González also signed a seven-year, $80 million deal; so why hasn’t Joey Votto signed? 

Alright, kicking off my 30-team preview, we're starting in the wonderful city of Sixsburgh. A city of rich sports tradition, and champions all around.

Whether you're on the frozen pond, or on the gridiron, Pittsburgh knows what it takes to win championships. Even the dismal Pirates were once synonymous with success back in the early 1900s as well as the entire 1970s.

An already deep Cardinals rotation added some surplus on Friday, inking Miguel Batista and Ian Snell to minor-league deals. The Post-Dispatch reports that Batista can become a free agent if he's not assured a spot on the big-league team by the final week of Spring Training, and that Snell has a similar option for June 1.