The St. Louis Cardinals have less than 12 hours left to make some decisions regarding their 2012 roster. Currently, now that the team has locked up Yadier Molina for another season, they have two contract options remaining -- both team options -- for the combo of reliever Octavio Dotel and infielder Rafael Furcal.
Octavio Dotel's stats were impressive this year (3.50 ERA, 3.23 FIP through 54.0 innings), though his best years are literally a decade behind him. His $3.5M option, however, keeps him in the affordable price range, but with a buyout at only $750K, the Cardinals may be tempted spend the money elsewhere.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals appear quite likely to decline Rafael Furcal's $12M option. Furcal, who came to the Cardinals on a trade deadline deal that sent minor league outfielder Alex Castellanos to the Dodgers, spent almost two months of the 2011 season recovery from various injuries. His team option would have vested automatically if he crossed 600 plate appearances, which he fell woefully short, reaching the plate less than 400 times.
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