St. Louis ? Now that the St. Louis Cardinals have acquired a pitcher for the top of the rotation, they’ll turn their attention to the middle infield.

General manager Walt Jocketty completed the deal for pitcher Mark Mulder, who came from the Oakland Athletics, while on vacation in Hawaii. Jocketty usually takes the last two weeks of the year off for an island getaway, but there’s a chance he’ll stay busy this year because the Cardinals still need a second baseman and shortstop.

“This is usually a time when I get away for a little while,” Jocketty said. “Not this year.”

Today is a big day on the shopping list, because that is the deadline for teams to offer contracts to unsigned players. Their list of potential replacements for Edgar Renteria and Tony Womack likely will expand on that day. Mulder will make $12.75 million the next two seasons, a factor that might make a big-ticket free agent pickup for either of their vacancies less likely. Jocketty said the Cardinals were not in the running for Boston free agent Orlando Cabrera, the most expensive of the shortstop candidates.

A pickup like 40-year-old Barry Larkin, who batted .289 with eight home runs and 44 RBIs in 111 games with Cincinnati last year, perhaps would make sense. Larkin could share shortstop with Hector Luna, a Rule 5 draft pickup last year who was impressive in limited all-around duty.

“He’d be a good fit for us,” Jocketty said.

Among the top second base candidates are former Cardinals player Placido Polanco.

The price was steep for Mulder, a 17-game winner last year. The Athletics received right-hander Dan Haren, who had been projected as part of the St. Louis rotation next year, right-handed reliever Kiko Calero and top catching prospect Daric Barton.

“We knew it was going to cost us some good players,” Jocketty said. “The up side is he’s under contract for us for the next two years.”