Cardinals Pursuing Matt Holliday

SATURDAY, 7:05pm: Peter Gammons tweets (account protected) that any discussions would have to start with Brett Wallace, as the A's don't need to trade Holliday.

FRIDAY, 11:13pm: The Cardinals are "redoubling efforts to acquire" Matt Holliday, according to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  Strauss says the Cards have warmed to the idea of offering a multiplayer package.  They were previously reluctant to send a Ryan Ludwick-fronted package to Colorado in November.  Strauss believes that the Cardinals would now probably be willing to offer Ludwick, one of Jason Motte, Chris Perez, and Kyle McClellan, and a prospect to Holliday's current team, the Athletics.  Strauss adds:

Chairman Bill DeWitt Jr., who opposed the November deal for Holliday, is apparently on board with assuming the remainder of Holliday's $13.5 million salary.

Only about $7.6MM remains on Holliday's contract, and he is of course a free agent after the season.  Holliday, a Scott Boras client, currently profiles as a Type A free agent despite a decrease in production with Oakland.

Ludwick has about $2MM remaining on his contract this year.  He's under team control through 2011 as an arbitration-eligible player.  Ludwick was actually drafted by the A's in 1999, 60th overall.  In 2002, they sent him to the Rangers with Gerald Laird and others for Carlos Pena and Mike Venafro.  Ludwick, like Holliday, has dropped off significantly from his huge 2008 season.