MLB Trade Rumors: St. Louis Cardinals Want Matt Holliday?

by faketeams on Jul 23, 2009 7:43 PM EDT in Baseball

From Twitter:

injuryexpertRT @BaseballStone: It looks like the st. Louis cardinals will make a deal for oaklands matt holliday. The asking price is brett wallace.
SI_JonHeyman tony la russa is said by sources to badly want holliday. cant blame 'em for that. #cardinals

These tweets follow on Buster Olney's earlier report of the same trade rumor - the Oakland A's send Matt Holliday to the St. Louis Cardinals for AAA 3B Brent Wallace.

For the A's, this seems like a great deal given the team needn't worry about Holliday accepting arbitration coming off a $13.5 million season and receive a player who will be major league ready before the team can even use the presumed draft picks received when Holliday declines the arbitration offer.

The Cardinals use a prospect to add the bat they hope will provide production behind 1B Albert Pujols. Wallace is just a year removed from Arizona State and finds himself in AAA. With a 298/351/431 Pacific Coast League slash stat line, one wonders if the Cardinals will regret dealing him at all.

Poll

Should the Cardinals deal their top prospect, 3B Brent Wallace, for two plus month rental Matt Holliday?

Yes. The team can either recoup the two picks next draft or hope he accepts arbitration in what will be Albert Pujols' walk year.

139 votes

No. Wallace is a top prospect. Don't you realize he is more valuable than getting in on the Google IPO?

103 votes

242 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

Does anybody know anything about Wallace’s defense? That makes a huge impact here. If his D isn’t good and he gets moved to the OF, like Ryan Braun, he’s far less valuable than if he is average or even above average at 3B.

by ILLZ on Jul 24, 2009 8:39 AM EDT reply actions

Wallace's D

From what I have read Wallace is a poor defensive 3B and would most likely need to move to 1B at some point in the not too distant future. Since the Cards have a pretty good 1B already I imagine Wallace is somewhat expendable, similar to the LaPorta situation with the Brewers last season. The Cards have had a tendency of trading for vets (McGwire, Edmonds) and then signing them to below market deals the next season so I can see the same thing happening with Holliday.

The A’s really do not have a long term solution at 1B (unless you are irrationaly optimistic about Daric Barton, as I tend to be) and also have the DH so this trade makes a lot of sense. Wallace and maybe a pitching prospect is a much better option than letting Holliday walk and taking the picks since, as the Brewers found out with CC last year, there is no guarantee you get a first rounder for a type A free agent based on what team the player signs with. Even if the A’s wind up with a 1st and comp pick, anyone they draft is likely a lot further away from the majors than Wallace.

This is by far the most likely trade to happen before the deadline.

by DB11 on Jul 24, 2009 9:21 AM EDT reply actions