Frank talk on Franklin

The Cardinals are looking at some young pitchers as fallback options for closer Ryan Franklin. The 37-year-old Cardinals closer had a career year in 2009, one we don't expect him to duplicate or even approach. Even Franklin is backing the backup idea.

Franklin, a first-time All-Star last year whose ERA hovered around 1.00 until early September, welcomes the help. He called it a "good idea" and said he just wanted to be part of a winning team.

Fantasy Impact: We're not high on Franklin moving forward, but he's on a good team and he pitched well for the majority of last season. Jason Motte and Mitchell Boggs get mentions in the article, and they seem like potential options as the next guys in line. Boggs might end up the Cardinals fifth starter, although Dave Duncan seemingly likes him in a relief role. Motte got first crack as Cardinals closer last season, and failed rather obviously. Franklin is the guy going into the season, but his grasp on the closer role is less than dead-bolt. Let's be honest, teams don't talk about backing up a closer unless they assume they might have to do exactly that.