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Why Cardinals' future is in Stephen Piscotty's hands

ST. LOUIS -- Matt Holliday isn't going to play in St. Louis forever, even if it sometimes feels like he already has.

Should the St. Louis Cardinals' front office pick up his $17 million option for next season or sign him to a multi-year extension, there still will be a time not far off when Holliday, 36, either plays elsewhere or retires. It happens to every player and rarely is the ending orchestrated perfectly.

Which is why, for the Cardinals, Stephen Piscotty is so crucial to their future. The team has good reason to believe Piscotty can be the high-on-base-percentage, high-batting-average, power-to-all-fields right-handed presence in their lineup that Holliday has been since 2009.