On Sunday night, former Cardinals outfielder Jim Edmonds said he wants to come and play for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2010. At Tony La Russa’s Animal Rescue Foundation event Edmunds went on stage and said , “I’m challenging him (La Russa) to let me come back and play for the Cardinals again for free.”

Edmonds has not played since September 2008 for the Chicago Cubs. However, according to Matthew Leach of MLB.com, the Cardinals are in need of a backup center fielder and a left-handed bat off the bench.

It is not known if Edmonds was joking or if he was serious. A couple of weeks ago, La Russa suggested that Mark McGwire may be put on the active roster come mid-season if the Cardinals are in contention, but he was only joking. La Russa nor GM John Mozeliak did not comment about Edmonds after the event ended.

Edmunds, 39, has a .284 career batting average with 382 home runs in 16 Major League seasons. You can see Edmund’s contract history and statistics here.