Could Renteria Return to St. Louis?

It remains to be seen whether or not the Detroit Tigers might be interested in bringing Edgar Renteria back at a lesser salary to be their shortstop in 2009.  But another former team of Renteria's might be interested in a reunion, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

From Joe Strauss's story in today's edition:

Interest exists in returning Edgar Renteria after the Detroit Tigers last week declined to pick up his option for 2009, making Renteria a free agent.  The Cardinals would probably have interest in a short-term deal worth considerably less than the $10 million-a-year deal Renteria signed with the Boston Red Sox in December 2004.

Prevailing opinion suggests Renteria has slipped defensively since leaving the Cardinals.  [Cardinals GM John] Mozeliak acknowledges that how the club addresses its vacancy at shortstop will heavily influence how it views second base.  "Clearly we don't have a shortstop," said Mozeliak, who did not address what looks like a reluctance to bring back defensive specialist Cesar Izturis, another of its eight remaining free agents.  "A lot will depend on how we complement" the two positions.

Renteria played with the Cardinals for six seasons, from 1999-2004.  The best year of his career was arguably in 2003, when he hit .330/.394/.480 with 13 home runs and 100 RBIs in 157 games.  He also had 16 errors that season.