Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Cardinals second baseman, Skip Schumaker, is expected to receive a one-year contract around $2 million.

According to Schumaker, “no deal done yet, but I think we’re close. I don’t think either one of us wants to go to arbitration. I don’t have anything bad to say about (the Cardinals), so I really don’t want to go.”

Schumaker, 30 by Opening Day, hit .303 with a .364 on-base percentage with the Cardinals in 2009 while making $430,000. His high batting average can be attributed to Mark McGwire who has tutored Schumaker in past seasons. You can see Schumaker’s complete contract history and statistics here.

Clarification: McGwire tutored such players as Matt Holliday, Bobby Crosby, Chris Duncan and Schumaker as a private hitting instructor. Please don’t read in between the lines. =P