“Positive Movement” in Holliday Talks

Update: The St. Louis Cardinals have reportedly made Matt Holliday their biggest contract offer in team history, an 8 year deal with an average annual value "around $16 million." That's still well short of the $180 million Boras was seeking, but it sounds like the Cardinals could be close to re-signing their free agent slugger.

Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post Dispatch is reporting "movement" that "most would [classify as] positive" by the St. Louis Cardinals in their negotiations with free agent outfielder Matt Holliday.

The Cardinals reportedly made an initial offer to Holliday late last week before leaving the Winter Meetings. While terms of the offer were not officially disclosed, Strauss reported it was for 8 years at an annual average of $14-16 million.

Any annual value less than $18 million would be less than Holliday rejected to stay with the Colorado Rockies, however, by going 8 years the Cardinals might buy themselves a bit of a discount. Of course Holliday's agent, Scott Boras, was said to be seeking a $180 million deal so the Cards would still likely have to increase their initial offer.

Holliday is also said to be seeking a full no-trade clause and the Cardinals have admitted that they'll need to be "creative" in their attempts to lock up the slugger.

Strauss has indicated it could be a late night of negotiations but we'll keep you posted as this rumor involves the home town Cardinals and hey, I get to be a little bit biased every now and then.