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Cardinals Interested In Andy LaRoche

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The Cardinals have interest in Andy LaRoche and are eyeing the infielder as a possible trade target, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The Cardinals recently found out that David Freese will miss the rest of the season, but they've been getting by at the hot corner with Felipe Lopez and (for one game) Allen Craig. For the Cardinals to acquire LaRoche from their division rivals, every NL team with a worse record than St. Louis would have to let LaRoche slip through waivers.

The former top prospect has just a .223/.290/.299 line this year after a solid 2009 season. LaRoche has spent most of his major league career at third base, though he has played a handful of games at second. He earns $450K this year and will go to arbitration for the first time this winter. The Pirates have LaRoche under team control through 2013.

Waiver Trade Candidates: NL Central

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The NL Central picture: the Reds and Cardinals are in the race, and the Brewers, Astros, Cubs, and Pirates are out.  Waiver trade candidates:

Reds closer Francisco Cordero will probably clear waivers, though he's unlikely to change teams.  I view Bronson Arroyo as a similar case.  The Reds could use the depth Aaron Harang will provide when he returns from the disabled list from back spasms, though the chance to shed the remainder of his contract would be appealing.

Newly acquired Cardinal Jake Westbrook might clear waivers, not that he'll be dealt again.  Kyle Lohse should make it through, if he returns from forearm surgery this month.  Skip Schumaker, signed at $2.7MM for next year, could clear waivers as well.

The Brewers should expect Randy Wolf, Trevor Hoffman, David Riske, and LaTroy Hawkins to clear waivers.  Perhaps GM Doug Melvin will try to place the a few of the relievers with contenders.  Dave Bush and Jim Edmonds are two who might be claimed.

The Astros can count on Carlos Lee, Pedro Feliz, and Brandon Lyon clearing waivers.  Most likely Brian Moehler, Tim Byrdak, and Geoff Blum will clear as well.  Perhaps one of the cheaper veterans will be dealt.

A host of Cubs figure to clear waivers: Alfonso Soriano, Carlos Zambrano, Kosuke Fukudome, and Derrek Lee.  Of that group I'd say Fukudome has the best chance of going.  Aramis Ramirez may get through.  He was starting to heat up but recently aggravated a thumb injury.  There's a good chance Xavier Nady clears waivers and is traded.

The Pirates don't have many moderate-sized contracts; newly-acquired Chris Snyder could get through waivers.  Ryan Doumit should also clear once he returns from the DL, and he does appear to be a trade candidate.

For our primer on the waiver trade process, click here.

Cardinals Sign Nate Robertson

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The Cardinals signed Nate Robertson to a minor league deal, according to B.J. Rains of FOXSportsMidwest.com (via Twitter). The Marlins released the left-hander last month after an extended stint in Florida's rotation. Now, Robertson will report to Triple A Memphis, though it's not clear what his role will be with the Redbirds. 

Robertson struggled through 18 starts with the Marlins, posting a 5.47 ERA with 5.5 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9. The Cardinals will have considerable rotation depth if and when Kyle Lohse (forearm) and Brad Penny (shoulder) return from the injuries that have sidelined them. The Cards recently acquired starter Jake Westbrook, so they could consider using Robertson as a reliever.

Odds & Ends: Lowell, Cardinals, Mets

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On this date in 2001, the Cardinals acquired Woody Williams from the Padres for Ray Lankford.  Lankford was useful for the rest of that season, but Williams went on to have an excellent Cardinals career.  Links for Monday…

Trade Deadline Reactions

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While we wait for August's rumor mill to pick up, the focus remains on the trades made over the last few days. Let's take a look at how a few writers are evaluating those deals….

  • USA Today's Bob Nightengale and the New York Post's Joel Sherman list their winners and losers, agreeing that the Rangers and Padres did very well, while the Mets and Red Sox needed to do more.
  • In Jeff Passan's assessment of July's deals for Yahoo! Sports, the Mets get a surprising thumbs-up.
  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports examines how the trades affect the playoff races. The Phillies and Cardinals are among his predicted division winners, after their respective deals for Roy Oswalt and Jake Westbrook.
  • The Cardinals paid too high a price for Westbrook, according to Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
  • Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times says that although the Dodgers' and Angels' moves were nice, they won't be enough to propel either team into the playoffs.
  • A pair of New York Daily News writers disagree about the merit of the Yankees' weekend acquisitions. According to Mike Lupica, all the additions make the Yanks seem slightly desperate, but John Harper sees nothing wrong with making baseball's best team better. I have to side with Harper here – Brian Cashman's goal is to field a championship team, not to worry about whether a division rival's inactivity makes his club look insecure.
  • The Houston Chronicle's Richard Justice and Jerome Solomon have conflicting views on the post-deadline Astros. Solomon can't think of much to be happy about, while Justice writes that a younger, more energetic roster should be fun.

Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Salty, Braves, Cards

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Ken Rosenthal has a new Full Count video up, so let's dive in…

  • The Red Sox scouted Jarrod Saltalamacchia hard before acquiring him this afternoon, and they feel that he is throwing better and will benefit from a change of scenery.  18 months ago the cost for Salty was Clay Buchholz, so they feel he's worth the gamble considering the uncertain futures of Victor Martinez and Jason Varitek.
  • The Braves didn't need either Kyle Farnsworth or Rick Ankiel, but picking up both improves their depth considerably. Ankiel will be the regular center fielder against righties, platooning with Melky Cabrera, while Farnsworth will help lessen the burden on Takashi Saito and Jonny Venters. The Braves are clearly going for it in Bobby Cox's final season.
  • It seems odd that the Cardinals would trade Ryan Ludwick given their offensive inconsistency this year, but the team likes what Jon Jay has done and they'll save big when Ludwick goes to arbitration for the final time next season.
  • Relative to its competition, no team did as poorly as the Mets at the deadline. They were outbid for Ramon Ramirez, and the Cubs wanted no part of a Luis Castillo and Oliver Perez for Carlos Zambrano swap. The Cubbies are hopeful that Big Z will come back and rebuild his value down the stretch.

Cardinals, Padres, Indians Complete Deal Involving Westbrook, Ludwick

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The Cardinals, Padres, and Indians completed a complicated three-team deal today.  Starter Jake Westbrook and Padres prospect Nick Greenwood go to the Cardinals, the Padres get Ryan Ludwick, and the Indians get prospect Corey Kluber.  The Indians will send cash to the Cardinals and some cash to the Padres, but they still save money in the deal, according to Indians vice president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti. The trade needed union approval, as Westbrook reduced the $2MM trade bonus in his contract. Westbrook has yet to pocket about $3.9MM of his $11MM salary for 2010.

The Cardinals' interest in Westbrook had been known for a while, as they've been dealing with injuries to Brad Penny and Kyle Lohse.  Westbrook has a 4.65 ERA, 5.1 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, and 53.3% groundball rate this season.  He had Tommy John surgery in June of '08, and wasn't healthy until this year.

The Indians discussed the deal late into the night, partly because of Westbrook’s trade assignment bonus. The right-hander co-operated with the Indians when it came to the bonus, partly because he missed time with injuries.

“I didn’t really feel like I honored the contract as much as I would have liked to have,” Westbrook said.

The Cardinals should have their new starter in short order, as Westbrook will now head to St. Louis. He would be open to returning to the Indians after the season, when he becomes a free agent. For now, he says he’s looking forward to joining a team in the pennant race.

“I’m excited to go to a club contending for a playoff spot and pitch in some meaningful ballgames,” Westbrook said.

Ludwick was not known to be available, but perhaps the strong play of Jon Jay swayed the Cardinals.  The 32-year-old Ludwick has settled at a level between his stellar '08 and disappointing '09 seasons.  He's under team control for next year, so the Padres will step up and pay his potential $8MM salary for 2011.  The Padres designated recently-acquired Quintin Berry for assignment to make room for Ludwick.

Kluber, 24, has a 3.45 ERA in AA with 10.0 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9. The Padres selected the right-hander in the fourth round of the 2007 draft and have eased him through the minor leagues. In 122.2 innings this season, the 6'4" starter has allowed just 121 hits. Antonetti says the Indians like Kluber's four pitch mix and low-90s fastball, but he doesn't like trading away veteran players.

“We don’t like doing these deals," Antonetti said. "We want to be on the other end of them.”

The Padres selected Greenwood in the 14th round of last year's draft and he's now pitching at A ball. The 22-year-old lefty has a 4.15 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 as a starter in the Midwest League.

Tom Krasovic of AOLFanHouse, Joel Sherman of the New York Post, ESPN.com's Buster Olney, Dan Hayes of the North County Times, Jon Heyman of SI.com and Bob Nightengale of USA Today all contributed to the story as it broke on Twitter. MLBTR gathered all the above quotes.

Cardinals Close To Jake Westbrook Trade

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11:13am: Westbrook has agreed to lower the $2MM trade bonus, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  It's currently unclear whether the Padres are involved in this as part of a three-team deal, though Sherman thinks they may have dropped out.

10:53am: A third team might be involved in the deal, reports MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince.

10:19am: The Cardinals are close to acquiring starter Jake Westbrook from the Indians, tweets Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.  Westbrook is scheduled to start against the Blue Jays a few hours from now.

Westbrook is pricey – he has $3.89MM remaining in base salary this year, and a $2MM bonus and $353K salary bump for being traded.  That's a total of $6.24MM remaining.  Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the deal is at the union level as the teams try to sort through the financials.

Westbrook, 32, will solidify the back end of the Cardinals' rotation given the injuries to Kyle Lohse and Brad Penny.  Westbrook has a 4.65 ERA, 5.1 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, and 53.3% groundball rate this season.  He had Tommy John surgery in June of '08, and wasn't healthy until this year.

Padres, Cardinals, Indians Agree To Deal Involving Ludwick, Westbrook

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11:44am: The Padres are sending pitching prospect Corey Kluber to the Indians in the deal, tweets Nightengale.  Krasovic adds that the Padres will send pitching prospect Nicholas Greenwood to the Cardinals.

11:38am: The union has approved the trade, tweets Krasovic.  The Padres get Ludwick, the Cardinals get Westbrook, and the Padres give up two prospects.  Bob Nightengale of USA Today says the deal is official.

11:36am: Westbrook to the Cardinals is agreed to, tweets Heyman.  He adds that the Padres still appear likely to get Ludwick.

11:28am: Ludwick to the Padres has a 90% chance of going down, tweets Dan Hayes of the North County Times.  The Padres would send money and a prospect to the Indians in the potential three-team deal, tweets Olney.  Westbrook has officially been scratched, tweets Castrovince.

11:16am: ESPN's Buster Olney tweets/counters that this thing still has life as of two minutes ago.  Sherman is backing off his earlier tweet and now thinks the Padres are still in it too.

11:08am: Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that he thinks the Padres have fallen out of this deal and it's just going to be the Cardinals and Indians in a Westbrook trade.

10:58am: Krasovic tweets that a three-team deal is pending the union's OK: the Padres get Ludwick, the Cardinals get Jake Westbrook and a Padres prospect, and the Indians get prospects. 

10:39am: The Padres are deep in talks with the Cardinals for outfielder Ryan Ludwick, tweets Tom Krasovic of AOL FanHouse.  The Cardinals were not known to be willing to discuss Ludwick, but perhaps the strong play of Jon Jay swayed them.

Ludwick, 32, has settled at a level between his stellar '08 and disappointing '09 seasons.  He's under team control for next year, and we know the Padres prefer to get more than a rental.

Cardinals Sign Seth Blair

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The Cardinals formally announced the signing of supplementary first rounder Seth Blair, according to MLB.com's Matthew Leach (via Twitter). The Cards selected the 21-year-old right-hander 46th overall in last month's draft. Three years ago, the A's selected Blair in the 47th round, but he attended Arizona State instead.

The Cardinals signed Blair for $751,500, according to Baseball America's Jim Callis.  That matches MLB's slot recommendation.

Earlier in the week, we heard that the Cards were close to finalizing an agreement with Blair, so tonight's news is no surprise. Click here for the complete list of top picks to sign.

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