MLB Trade Rumors: Colby Rasmus For Gordon Beckham??

To Randy Moss after his post-game comments on Sunday: STFU and quit complaining.

To Brett Favre: retire already.

To Chiefs coach Todd Haley: give Jamaal Charles the ball more. He is good.

To NL teams: the Giants pitchers aren't going anywhere in 2011. Yikes.

I was reading Buster Olney's Sunday morning blog post before watching some football yesterday and came across this:

The White Sox face a lot of hurdles in trying to land Colby Rasmus in a trade, writes Mark Gonzales. First and foremost: To make this trade, the Cardinals would either have to get Gordon Beckham or be out of their minds.

On Saturday, there was talk that the Cardinals and White Sox were discussing a Colby Rasmus for Carlos Quentin deal. The talks may be further along than we all know as Mark Gonzales from the Chicago Tribune reported the following on Sunday:

Although the Cardinals had a team official watching Sox and Cardinals prospects at Friday night's Arizona Fall League game between Surprise and the Peoria Saguaros, many issues would have to be resolved before such a deal could be finalized.

Here is a list of the White Sox prospects playing in the AFL this season: Anthony Carter (RHP), Charles Leesman (LHP), Johnnie Lowe (RHP), Henry Mabee (RHP), Josh Phegley (C), Eduardo Escobar (SS), Jared Mitchell (OF)

When I first read about that rumor, I thought the Cardinals should be able to get more than Quentin for Rasmus. Since his breakout 2008 season where he hit .288-.394-.571 with 36 HRs, 100 RBIs and 96 runs scored, Quentin has battled injuries and it appears pitchers have caught up to him.

In 2009, Quentin hit .236-.323-.456 with 21 HRs and 56 RBIs in 399 at bats. In 2010, he hit .243-.342-.479 with 26 HRs, 87 RBIs and 73 runs scored. Quentin appears to be a solid power hitter who will hurt fantasy owners in the BA category. So, I agree with Olney. The Cardinals should look to the younger Gordon Beckham should they want to discuss dealing Rasmus to the White Sox.

The Cardinals have a need for an upgrade at second base and Beckham fits the bill. Beckham had a disastrous 2010 season which saw him hit .252-.317-.378 with 9 HRs, 49 RBIs and 58 runs scored, after hitting .270-.347-.460 with 14 HRs, 63 RBIs and 58 runs scored in 2009. I, for one, ranked Beckham pretty high in the 2010 pre-season. Even after his horrible sophomore season, Beckham represents and upgrade at second base to Skip Schumaker. Schumaker is more of a 4th outfielder/utility player who the Cardinals played everyday.

Rasmus obviously has more value in a trade than Beckham or Quentin does presently, so I am sure the White Sox would have to add to this rumored deal. Could the White Sox add SS Eduardo Escobar or Jared Mitchell in any deal for Rasmus?