The St. Louis Cardinals and newly acquired outfielder Larry Bigbie agreed Tuesday to a $900,000, one-year contract.

The Cardinals also failed to offer contracts to catcher Mike Mahoney, reliever Mike Lincoln and infielders Bo Hart and Scott Seabol by the 11 p.m. CST deadline, allowing the four to become free agents.

Bigbie, who will get a shot to replace the departed Reggie Sanders in left field, hit a combined .239 with five homers and 23 RBIs for the Rockies and Orioles last year. Colorado acquired him for outfielder Eric Byrnes on July 29.

St. Louis obtained Bigbie from Colorado with second baseman Aaron Miles for reliever Ray King on Dec. 8, Bigbie's deal allows him to earn an has $50,000 in performance bonuses — $25,000 each for 500 and 550 plate appearances.

The 29-year-old Hart was the highest-profile player among those not offered contracts. He was 7-for-10 to start his career in 2003, getting his chance to start at second base and bat leadoff after injuries to Fernando Vina and Miguel Cairo.

Hart batted .277 in 2003 with four homers and 28 RBIs in 296 at-bats in 2003, but he appeared in only 11 games in 2004 and spent all of last season at Triple-A Memphis.

Mahoney, 33, split last season between Memphis and St. Louis, making most of his 21 starts while Yadier Molina was on the disabled list with a broken left hand. Lincoln, 30, hasn't pitched since May 2004 due to a pair of elbow operations.

Seabol, 30, got his first extended chance in the major leagues because of a season-ending shoulder injury to Scott Rolen and batted .225 with seven RBIs in 23 starts.

The St. Louis Cardinals and pitcher Sidney Ponson have reportedly agreed on a one-year contract.

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the incentive-laden deal for the former Baltimore Oriole could become official as early as Wednesday.

Ponson has been troubled off the field recently. He had legal problems in his native Aruba after allegedly punching a judge and was released by the Orioles in September following a drunk driving arrest.

The Orioles voided his contract following the arrest. He was slated to earn $10 million in 2006.

Ponson, who did not pitch after August 7 of last year because of a strained right calf, struggled following a 5-1 start to the 2005 campaign and stumbled to a 7-11 record with a 6.21 earned run average in 23 starts.

The 29-year-old righty spent the majority of his eight big league seasons with the Orioles. He appeared in 10 games with San Francisco at the end of the 2003 season after the Giants acquired the hurler at the trade deadline.

In 233 career games, including 222 starts, Ponson has a record of 76-91 with a 4.81 ERA and 870 strikeouts.

As the St. Louis Cardinals move into their new stadium, the old Busch Stadium’s furniture is also finding a new home. A-Mrazek Moving Systems, a St. Louis-based United Van Lines agent and the official mover of the St. Louis Cardinals, stepped in to donate its services and transport memorable and functional sets of furniture for worthy charities, including Habitat for Humanity. All furniture was donated by the St. Louis Cardinals. A-Mrazek picked up the furniture at Busch Stadium and is currently storing all of the pieces that have yet to be placed with a charitable organization.

The St. Louis Cardinals donated 60 luxury suites worth of furniture to support charitable causes in need of couches, tables and chairs. To date, 30 sets of furniture were donated to Habitat for Humanity while other sets were put in storage at A-Mrazek where charitable organizations including Americorps, Angel Arms, Gateway Housing Services and Evangelical Children’s Home came to pick up wanted pieces.

“The assistance given by A-Mrazek is unbelievable. You could say that they really stepped up to the plate,” said Marty Hendin, vice president of community relations for the St. Louis Cardinals. “Without their services, this project couldn’t have happened.”

“We enjoy giving back and supporting the community and this was a great opportunity to do just that,” said Dave Sabada, president of A-Mrazek. “Working with the St. Louis Cardinals, Habitat for Humanity and other important local charities was something we are definitely proud of and honored to have played a part.”