Cardinals infielder David Freese arrested for suspicion of drunken driving

Cardinals’ Freese faces DWI charge

ST. LOUIS — St. Louis Cardinals third baseman David Freese has been arrested in St. Louis County on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.

Police in Maryland Heights, Mo., gave details of the arrest Monday. Freese was stopped at 2:40 a.m. Saturday for a traffic offense, then given a sobriety test.

Details of the sobriety test were not released, but Freese was arrested for driving while intoxicated and failure to drive within a single lane.

Freese’s agent says he is remorseful and is eager to put the incident behind him.

Freese is 26 and is a St. Louis County native. He is expected to compete for a starting job in 2010.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis Cardinals third baseman David Freese has been arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, the fourth time in less than three years that a member of the team has faced drunken-driving allegations.

A spokeswoman for the city of Maryland Heights, Mo., on Monday confirmed the arrest but had no additional information except that the arrest was in St. Louis County.

Police would not comment but said details would be released later Monday. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Freese was arrested early Saturday. By midday, no charges had been filed.

Freese’s agent, Philip Tannenbaum, said Freese was not involved in an accident, but had no specific details about the arrest.

Tannenbaum said Freese is remorseful.

“The entire matter is regrettable,” Tannenbaum said. “David looks forward to contributing to the success of the St. Louis Cardinals. We look forward to putting this behind us.”

There was no phone listing for Freese, and it wasn’t clear if he had an attorney. Phone messages left with a Cardinals spokesman and general manager John Mozeliak were not returned.

Freese, 26, is a native of suburban St. Louis and played high school baseball at Lafayette High School in St. Louis County. He was drafted in the ninth round by San Diego in 2006. The Cardinals acquired Freese in a December 2007 trade that sent Jim Edmonds to San Diego.

Freese has been one of the team’s most productive minor leaguers and was a candidate to start at third base in 2009 after Troy Glaus had offseason shoulder surgery that would force him to sit out most of the season.

But in January, Freese’s car skidded on ice and wrecked. He injured both feet and eventually had surgery on his left foot, forcing him to miss most of the first half of the season.

He returned to hit .300 with 10 home runs and 37 runs batted in in 56 games at Triple-A Memphis. In 17 games with St. Louis, he hit .323 with one homer and seven RBIs.

Freese enters 2010 as perhaps the front-runner for the starting job at third base. Glaus was not re-signed, and Mark DeRosa, who played mostly third base after being acquired in a June trade with Cleveland, is a free agent.

Even if the Cardinals re-sign DeRosa, he could be moved to left field if Matt Holliday opts to sign elsewhere.

The arrest of Freese was the fourth alcohol-related incident involving a member of the Cardinals since early 2007, when manager Tony La Russa was arrested at an intersection in Jupiter, Fla., for driving under the influence.

Two months later, relief pitcher Josh Hancock died when the sport utility vehicle he was driving struck a tow truck that was parked on Interstate 64 in St. Louis. Police said Hancock was speeding, talking on a cell phone and had a blood-alcohol level nearly twice the legal limit.

The Cardinals banned alcohol from the clubhouse after Hancock’s death.

In February 2008, utility player Scott Spiezio was released after being charged in a six-count complaint involving drunken driving and assault related to a car crash in California.