So what will the Cardinals do now that they are facing a future without their top hitter for the last 10 years? With Allen Craig stepping up to a full time role (when he’s back from knee surgery) and the addition of Carlos Beltran, they should be fine.

Here’s what I have projected for the 2:

Based off my Pujols Projections, Craig and Beltran will be better together than Pujols would have been by him self. They are projected to have the same total of homers (26), with the rest of the counting stats being higher (R, RBIs, etc) and the slash stats are lower (Avg/OBP/SLG). Now, I understand that they will have more plate appearances than Pujols will, but I attribute that to 2 things. First, Beltran will play centerfield when Craig is in right; Beltran is a huge upgrade over Jon Jay. Secondly, Craig will fill in at first base when Lance Berkman sits; Berkman has a track record with injuries, so it’s safe to assume that Craig will have a regular stint at first base for at least 15-games.

These 2 also won’t hamstring the team’s payroll for 10 years; this is important as Yadier Molina is a free agent after the season and, to me, he’s more important to the team than Pujols. But we’ll save that for another column.