Mark Prior Rumors: Astros, Cardinals

More info coming in on Mark Prior, who’s starting to seem like a hot commodity.  I can see how teams find him tantalizing, though a decent half-season from him is probably the upside.

The Astros have an offer out to Prior; throwing out tons of early offers seems to be Ed Wade’s style this winter.  Wade says the expectation is for Prior to be ready by late May; you can easily push that back a month if you want to be realistic.  The ’Stros will also watch Kris Benson throw.  That means only two of the ten clubs interested in Benson remain unknown.

Another NL Central team may have an eye on Prior.  MLB.com’s Matthew Leach says Prior is on the Cardinals’ radar.  You might think the Cardinals already have enough injury risk in the rotation.  But as Larry Borowsky notes, the Edmonds trade may have left the team with enough money for one innings eating starter and one wild card like Prior.

By the way, it doesn’t appear the Mariners are interested in Prior.