Q. After the recent acquisition of Khalil Greene, what further offseason moves are likely to occur in St. Louis?
— Joe, Dana, Ind.

A: Pitching, pitching and more pitching, Joe. They have discussed a deal with free-agent closer Brian Fuentes, but apparently will lose out to the Angels.

Fuentes wants a three-year deal, and the Cardinals reportedly offered two years and $16 million to $18 million. The Angels’ interest increased with Mark Teixeira’s decision to sign with the Yankees, freeing up owner Arte Moreno’s money to improve other areas of the Angels’ roster.

If not Fuentes, then perhaps free agents Brandon Lyon or Juan Cruz — but not likely Trevor Hoffman. But it’s hard to imagine manager Tony La Russa turning the closer duties over to young right-hander Chris Perez, so expect a move one way or the other.

As for the rotation, they are expected to stay away from the remaining free agents seeking long-term deals, but could take a one- or two-year shot at a Brad Penny, Ben Sheets or Randy Johnson.

With Colby Rasmus on the way, the likeliest trade scenario has an outfielder — Ryan Ludwick, Rick Ankiel or Skip Schumaker — going for pitching.

They couldn’t find a taker for Adam Kennedy, so apparently he will be back at second base for the final year of his contract — and other options such as re-signing Felipe Lopez or signing free agent Orlando Hudson have been eliminated.

Q: Where might Ken Griffey Jr. be playing next year?
— Denlyn, Antioch, Tenn.

A: Since it’s already Christmas, and a glut of corner outfielders still remain on the market, that’s a good question, Denlyn.

But it’s one that should start to unravel now that Mark Teixeira will be wearing pinstripes, and the losers in his bidding sweepstakes can grab their second choices, starting the falling dominoes in motion.

At this point in a wonderful, if-injury-marred Hall of Fame career, Griffey is a complimentary player, a platoon outfielder/DH, so he’s going to have to wait in line behind top remaining free agents Manny Ramirez, Bobby Abreu, Adam Dunn, Pat Burrell, Milton Bradley, etc.

To me, the best fit for him is an American League team that needs another bat against right-handed pitching for part-time DH/corner outfield duty. The Seattle Mariners and Tampa Bay Rays are two solid possibilities, but a lot has to shake out before we’ll get a better read on where Griffey will go next.

And for the record, here are Junior’s career numbers heading into 2009, with where he stands on the active list in parentheses — .288 BA, 611 home runs (first), 2,680 hits (first), 1,772 RBI (first), 1,612 runs (first), 2,521 games (third), 9,316 at-bats (second), 5,092 total bases (first), 503 doubles (fifth).

Q: I recently started watching baseball this past year. It seems baseball players get paid far more than football players. Do you know why that is, especially when football players risk more injuries?
— Christine, North Hills, Calif.

A: On average, baseball players do make more than NFL players. At least part of it has to do with roster sizes — 25 for a big-league team and 50-plus for an NFL team.

Major League Baseball also has a far looser salary cap, which allows big-market teams — especially the Yankees — to offer ridiculously large contracts to top free agents, as you may have noticed this offseason.

NFL teams have to operate under much-stricter payroll limits, and therefore can’t give too much to one player while having to pay the other 50.

The other major difference between long-term MLB and NFL contracts is they’re guaranteed in the former case, and not all guaranteed in the latter.

So, for instance, pitcher CC Sabathia will get every penny of that $160 million deal he signed with the Yankees — no matter what happens to him injury-wise over the eight years of the deal.

That’s not the case in NFL contracts, which usually have a guaranteed base, but go year-to-year as far as annual salaries are concerned. So a player isn’t guaranteed the entire deal unless he actually stays healthy through the entire length of the contract.

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