While the biggest question to the future of the St. Louis Cardinals likely won’t be answered this winter (the future of Albert Pujols in a St. Louis uniform beyond 2011), we’ve already started seeing some moves to form next season’s team.

Much to Tom Dill’s chagrin, the Cardinals Sunday traded Brendan Ryan to the Seattle Mariners for minor league pitcher Maikel Cleto.

Ryan had a horrendous 2010 season offensively. He hit .223 for the season with a .279 on-base percentage. In 439 at-bats, he struck out 60 times.

The breakdown of Ryan’s stats wasn’t much better. He hit about even against lefties and righties, batting a point better, .224, against southpaws.

Ryan was a .251 hitter last season at home, but only hit .194 on the road. He struggled at the start of the season with a .194 batting average before the All-Star game and .252 after that.

While Ryan’s average went up after the All-Star game, his power and base-running stats went down. Ryan had just 10 extra-base hits and no homers after the All-Star game after having 14 before. He also stole four bases and was caught three times after the break as opposed to seven swipes in eight attempts prior to the All-Star game.

While Ryan did hit well against the Cubs (.298) and the Pirates (.250), he struggled against other Central Division teams. He hit .214 against Cincinnati, .152 against Houston and .128 against Milwaukee. In the end, Ryan’s defense (he was a .974 fielder last season) and budget salary ($403,000 in 2010) wasn’t enough for the club to keep him with the Cardinals.

It seems that St. Louis is going a more expensive route to try and solve the problem spot at shortstop which really hasn’t been filled since David Eckstein left.

Ryan Theriot, acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers during the offseason, seems to be the choice at the position despite playing second base much of last season.

Theriot batted .270 with a .321 on-base percentage last year playing with the Chicago Cubs and the Dodgers.

While nobody is going to accuse Theriot of being a power hitter (19 extra-base hits including two home runs), he had better offensive numbers last year.

Theriot did not play shortstop with the Dodgers after being obtained from the Cubs, but he was a .974 fielder (same as Ryan) with Chicago at the position in 29 games. Ryan had a higher range factor, 5.01 to 4.10, but Theriot had a higher zone rating (percentage of balls fielded in his typical defensive zone by STATS, Inc.) of 6.139 to 4.924.

Theriot hit .286 against lefties last season and .264 against righties. He was a .278 hitter before the All-Star game and a .259 hitter after it. Theriot batted .339 when he was playing shortstop.

Theriot had some of his best success against other Central Division teams. He batted .407 against the Brewers, which should help the Cardinals against that pesky group.

Maybe the Cardinals acquired Theriot so they wouldn’t have to face him. He was a .292 batter against St. Louis last season.

The other big move the Cardinals have made so far was to sign free agent Lance Berkman.

Berkman, a switch hitter, played last season with the Houston Astros and the New York Yankees. He had a .248 batting average with 14 home runs.

He’s another player who seems to be switching positions for 2010. Berkman figures to play a corner outfield spot, either right field or left field (plans are for him to flip-flop with Matt Holliday depending upon the situation). He hasn’t played in the outfield since the 2007 season and hasn’t played in left field since 2006.

Berkman is another player who has had success against other Central Division teams. Last year, he hit .350 against Milwaukee and .343 against Chicago. Of course, he also batted .421 against the Cardinals and by signing him, St. Louis won’t have to face him this season.

The Cardinals are hopeful Berkman can continue his torrid hitting at Busch Stadium. He batted .556 in St. Louis last year (although he only had nine-at-bats). He’s been a .299 hitter in St. Louis over the past three seasons.

Berkman did struggle against left-handed pitching last year, hitting just .171. That’s a concern if it keeps up although the Cardinals still have Jon Jay, who batted .308 against lefties last year, on the roster.

If Berkman can recover his 2008 form (.312, .420 on-base percentage, 29 homers, 18 stolen bases), the signing will pay off. Just having Berkman in the lineup will give the Cardinals another power threat and might make it tougher for pitchers to pitch around Pujols.

It could be an interesting 2011 season. The Cardinals were able to augment their lineup without having to trade away any front line starting pitching.

The Cardinals are solid behind the plate with Yadier Molina, although finding a capable backup could get interesting. It either will be a veteran free agent willing to work cheap or one of the youngsters the team used last year.

Pujols is anchored to first base and Skip Schumaker would appear to be the platoon leader at second base. Theriot appears to be the shortstop.

Third base is a question for the team. David Freese missed most of last season after being injured. He was a .296 hitter before the injury. If Freese can rebound, it should be an area of strength for the team. If not, the Cardinals have some other options for the position.

And the outfield seems very strong with Holliday, Berkman in the corners and Colby Rasmus in between, provided Rasmus is kept through the winter. He was at the center of some controversy last season.

With Tony La Russa back as the manager, it could be another solid year for the Redbirds, one which sees them return to the playoffs next fall.

There were some subtractions to the roster as well.

To get Theriot, the Cardinals traded Blake Hawksworth to Los Angeles. Hawksworth, a right-handed pitcher, posted a 4.98 ERA last season over 45 games. He struggled a bit, allowing 113 hits over 90.1 innings. He also walked 35 and struck out 61.

In dispatching Hawksworth, the Cardinals figure they can find someone to fill that middle relief right-handed pitching role a bit more adequately than Hawksworth for 2011.

Cleto, acquired in the Ryan deal, is a long-term project. He is a 21-year-old thrower who pitched in Class A last year with a 6.16 ERA in 23 games. Of those games, 21 were as a starting pitcher.

Cleto’s up side is the fact that he can hit 100 mph on the radar gun, something which seems to be all the rage among general managers these days.

The Cardinals project him to fit into the bullpen. Just how far Cleto can progress is up to the Cardinals. One thing seems to be certain though. The fireballers don’t tend to have long careers. Throwing the ball 100 mph or greater is hard on the arm as we’ve seen with Stephen Strasburg, who underwent Tommy John surgery last summer during his highly anticipated rookie season with the Washington Nationals, and Joel Zumaya of the Detroit Tigers, who has suffered a number of arm injuries (hand, elbow, shoulder) since his big 2006 season.

The bullpen does need some work. Dennys Reyes, a lefty setup man in recent years, signed with the Phillies Dec. 9, meaning the Cardinals will need to fill that role.

Look at the positive side. You’re just a week away from being able to unwrap Craig Vonder Haar’s Christmas gifts in his annual Craig’s Corner Christmas edition!