Cardinals Rumors

Cardinals Acquire Matt Holliday

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 24, 2009 at 1:10pm CDT

2:10: The Cards officially announced the trade, according to MLB.com's Matthew Leach.

11:39am: Derrick Goold of the Post-Dispatch says there's been no talk of an extension for Holliday. As Tim asks on MLBTR's Twitter, "when has a Boras client foregone free agency two months out to take a discount?"

11:16am: ESPN.com's Buster Olney reports that the deal is complete. The A's will contribute $1.5MM to the remainder of Holliday's salary, which leaves the Cards with about $4.5MM.

11:11am: Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post Dispatch says the teams are reviewing the players' medical records. The deal will go through unless they encounter an unexpected medical issue.

11:07am: Ed Price of AOL FanHouse hears the deal will go down. A source tells Price the sides are "finalizing as we speak."

10:58am: Jon Heyman of SI.com says the deal is "very close" to completion.

10:21am: The Cardinals are close to acquiring Matt Holliday from the A's for Brett Wallace and two other players, according to ESPN.com's Tim Kurkjian. Outfielder Shane Peterson and righty Clayton Mortensen are also headed to Oakland if the deal goes through.

It's unclear who would pay Holliday the remaining $6MM on his contract should the teams complete a trade.

Roy Halladay Rumors: Thursday

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 23, 2009 at 7:56pm CDT

7:56pm: MLB.com's Todd Zolecki says GM Ruben Amaro has dismissed reports that Kyle Drabek is untouchable, confirming Olney's earlier report. Amaro apparently "did not have a sense either way" that the Phils would make any trades before the deadline, but Zolecki still says the Phils are in "hot pursuit" of Halladay.

4:52pm: The LA Times reports that Dodgers GM Ned Colletti knows which of his players the Jays have interest in. The Dodgers have watched Halladay's last two starts, but do not plan on including Clayton Kershaw in any trades.

4:45pm: Angels owner Arte Moreno told Bill Shaikin of the LA Times that he's interested in acquiring an ace starter and has no "financial constraints." Halladay and Cliff Lee are out there and the Angels say they'll keep all options open.

4:39pm: ESPN.com's Buster Olney hears that Kyle Drabek is not untouchable, though at least one top Phillies executive would prefer to hold the team's top young talent. Olney's sources tell him that serious talks are expected to begin this weekend.

3:35pm: Ricciardi told Jordan Bastian that Halladay has provided him with a list of teams to which he would approve a deal.

Ricciardi also says Halladay wants to test the free agent market after next season.

3:31pm: Ricciardi told The Canadian Press that talks have become "a little bit more heated up." He believes some teams are trying to make preliminary moves to acquire Halladay.

12:28pm: ESPN.com's Buster Olney lists eight reasons why a Halladay trade could work for the Jays and Phillies. Halladay's value is arguably at its highest now and with him, the Phillies could build a legacy of winning.

12:14pm: The consensus the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: the Cards don't have what it takes to acquire Halladay.

11:34am: MLB.com's Jordan Bastian passes on comments Ricciardi made on the FAN 590 in Toronto. Ricciardi says he's exploring deals in part because Halladay wants to test the free agent market after his deal expires next season. Some teams are serious about Halladay; others are delirious, Ricciardi said.

11:02am: J.P. Ricciardi told ESPN Radio he still doesn't expect to trade Roy Halladay. He believes his negotiating partners should be prepared to part with at least as much as the Mariners gave up to acquire Erik Bedard.

ESPN.com's Jayson Stark says the Phillies remain the one team that matches up perfectly with the Blue Jays. However, the Jays continue to seek big-league-ready pitching and other top prospects in any deal. Stark gets the sense that the Jays want to make a deal and doesn't expect them to lower their asking price as the deadline nears.

10:44am: Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun says the Jays could potentially expand a Halladay trade to include Marco Scutaro, Jason Frasor, Scott Downs or Brian Tallet, depending on their trading partner's needs.

One scout tells Elliott that some surprise teams are calling the Jays about Halladay.

9:20am: Here are the highlights from yesterday's Roy Halladay rumors GM J.P. Ricciardi expects to exchange names with interested teams early next week; the Blue Jays would consider dealing after their self-imposed deadline of July 28th; the Brewers remain a threat to acquire Doc; the Dodgers are still involved; the Rockies won't bring Halladay home to Colorado. But it doesn't stop, so here's the latest on the Jays righty, with more rumors to come:

One NL GM believes the Red Sox need Halladay and told Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe that they have enough to acquire him.

Cards & A’s Discussing Holliday For Wallace

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 23, 2009 at 6:18pm CDT

6:18pm: Ken Rosenthal calls the Cards' interest "mild, for now." However, Jon Heyman has a few updates on the proceedings–as noted in the past, Cards manager Tony La Russa is said to "badly" want Holliday. Heyman also reports that the Cardinals might want the A's to pay a portion of the $1.8MM bonus Wallace received after the 2008 draft.

3:41pm: SI.com's Jon Heyman says the Cards are "seriously pursuing" Holliday, possibly for Wallace. The Tigers are also in the mix for Holliday.

12:55pm: ESPN.com's Buster Olney says the Cards and A's are indeed discussing a possible Wallace for Holliday trade. One of Olney's sources says the odds of a deal are 50-50. The Cardinals ownership may be prepared to take on salary, or the A's may pay a portion of Holliday's contract to obtain a better return.

10:00am: Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle hears that the Cardinals might be readying themselves to part with prospect Brett Wallace for Matt Holliday. The Cardinals need a bat to protect Albert Pujols and Holliday has a .310/.416/.492 line since May 5th despite a well-documented drop in power. He's walked 41 times in that span and continues to play above average defense in left field.

Holliday makes $13.5MM this year and will likely be a Type A free agent after the season. Wallace is a top prospect, playing in the upper minors with an OPS over .800 in his first full season of pro ball. Washington outfielder Josh Willingham is an option for the Cards in case Holliday costs too much money and too many prospects.

Odds And Ends: V-Mart, Tigers, Mets

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 23, 2009 at 10:34am CDT

Some links for the morning…

ESPN.com's Peter Gammons says the Adam LaRoche acquisition won't prevent the Red Sox from pursuing an impact bat like Victor Martinez.
MLB.com's Jason Beck predicts that the Tigers will trade close to next Friday's deadline if they decide to deal.
Manager Jim Leyland spends so little time thinking about trades that he doesn't even know who's available, according to Chris Iott of MLive.com. Someone needs to tell him about MLBTR.
ESPN.com's Rob Neyer says the notion that the Mets are contenders "borders on delusional."
Royals GM Dayton Moore tells Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star that he will "be very aggressive and put the throttle down" if he sees an opportunity to improve his club.
Justin Smoak, Martin Perez and Neftali Feliz lead Jamey Newberg's list of top Rangers prospects this week at MLB.com.
As anticipated, the Seibu Lions acquired minor league reliever Jonah Bayliss from the Blue Jays, according to the Kyodo News.
More than half of St. Louis Post-Dispatch readers believe the Julio Lugo-Chris Duncan swap was necessary.

Red Sox & Cards Swap Lugo & Duncan

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 22, 2009 at 5:30pm CDT

5:30pm: The haul for Lugo is bigger than originally thought. The Sox receive a player to be named later or cash along with Duncan, according to the team's press release.

3:32pm: Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post Dispatch reports that the Cardinals will trade Chris Duncan to the Red Sox for Julio Lugo. Via Twitter Miklasz says the Red Sox will still pay Lugo's salary and Sean McAdam of the Boston Herald agrees.

Duncan has a career .851 OPS against right-handers and is under team control through 2012. Reid Laymance of the Post-Dispatch says the Red Sox are expected to assign Duncan to Triple A Pawtucket.

The deal was first reported by Viva El Birdos .

Roy Halladay Rumors: Tuesday

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 21, 2009 at 9:27pm CDT

9:27pm: David Lennon of Newsday cites two baseball officials who say that talks between the Mets and the Blue Jays never reached a point of a concrete offer from the Mets. Lennon adds that the Mets "do not expect to make a push" for Halladay.

6:55pm: Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweeted the following: "Source: Cards 'still in the mix' for Halladay."

4:56pm: Ricciardi told Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun that "it's unlikely Halladay will be dealt."

1:44pm: MLB.com's Todd Zolecki says the Phillies have enough talent to obtain Halladay without including Kyle Drabek.

1:06pm: ESPN.com's Buster Olney says the Phillies should overpay for Roy Halladay because he is perfect for them "in every way possible."

12:09pm: As MLB.com's Tom Singer points out, Jason Schmidt's 2009 debut showed that the Dodgers could use Doc.

11:43am: Jon Heyman of SI.com hears from an acquaintance of Halladay's that he's "emotionally gone." Sounds like Doc would approve a trade. Heyman also hears that the Phillies have decided not to include Kyle Drabek in a deal for Halladay.

11:33am: Ricciardi told Jack Curry of the New York Times that he won't trade Halladay at the last minute. The Jays are considering imposing a July 28th deadline on the negotiations.

Ricciardi says he receives "a new call from another team every day," so it will be a busy, franchise-defining week for the Jays.

10:48am: A Blue Jays official involved in the Halladay talks told Joel Sherman of the New York Post that the Yankees and Mets are not serious threats to acquire the Jays righty.

The Yanks and Jays only had introductory discussions and there's "absolutely nothing" going on with the Mets and Jays. Sherman hears that there is "no truth" to the rerport that the Mets rejected an offer from Toronto.

9:44am: The latest rumors on the American League leader in wins, strikeout to walk ratio and WHIP…

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says the Phillies are considering options other than Roy Halladay.
Mike Rutsey of the Toronto Sun says the Phillies, Brewers, Giants and Dodgers are still "kicking the tires" on Halladay.
Joey Fosko of the Boston Herald believes a deal's more likely after the season.
Yahoo's Tim Brown hears that the Blue Jays will model possible trades after the Erik Bedard deal- only they want more.
Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi told Brown that some of the teams talking to the Jays have enough to acquire Halladay, but may be reluctant to give up their talent.
Wallace Matthews of Newsday says Halladay won't play for the Bronx Bombers this year.
Matt Cerrone of MetsBlog heard from four baseball people who all believe Omar Minaya would have agreed to deal Fernando Martinez, Bobby Parnell, Jon Niese and Ruben Tejada for Halladay.

Odds and Ends: Cubs, Meredith, Fuentes, Dunn, Pavano

By Brian Shephard | July 21, 2009 at 8:24pm CDT

A few links on a busy Tuesday night around the league:

Lou Piniella still wants a left-handed power bat, according to Carrie Muskat of MLB.com.
The Orioles officially added Cla Meredith to their active roster today, optioning reliever Kam Mickolio to Triple-A Norfolk.
On Twitter, ESPN The Magazine's Jorge Arangure reports that the Giants have signed Colombian outfielder Leonardo Fuentes for a bonus of around $280k. Arangure also reports that the Padres made a late bid for the outfielder.
According to Matthew Leach of MLB.com, Tony LaRussa downplayed rumors that the Cards are pursuing Adam Dunn.
And R.J. Anderson at Fangraphs argues that Carl Pavano could be a trade deadline bargain.

Odds And Ends: Smoltz, Cards, Rangers

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 20, 2009 at 10:33am CDT

Some links as we begin a week of non-stop rumors…

Joel Sherman of the New York Post says John Smoltz, Jonathan Sanchez and Jason Schmidt, who all start tonight, will have an impact on their teams' deadline decisions. Red Sox officials want to see how much they can count on Smoltz, Sanchez can quiet teams' concerns about his control with a good start and Schmidt can provide the Dodgers a back-of-the-rotation arm.
Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says Troy Glaus and Khalil Greene are both advancing to Triple A for the next stage of their respective rehab assignments.
Evan Brunell of the Hardball Times finds the Padres-Orioles trade baffling from the Padres' perspective.
Texas Rangers Trades interviews MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan and the chat is worth a read.
Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram lists 11 pitchers the Rangers could potentially trade for, including Roy Halladay.

Odds & Ends: Glaus, Pirates, Schmidt, Cubs, Reds

By Mike Axisa | July 18, 2009 at 7:49pm CDT

A few links for your Saturday evening reading…

MLB.com's B.J. Rains says that Troy Glaus is going to work out in the outfield as he rehabs from offseason shoulder surgery. The Cardinals haven't committed to using him in the outfield when he returns, they're just giving it a try to see what happens. Glaus played five innings in left field tonight before moving to first base. The Cards have been looking to add a bat seemingly all year.
John Perrotto of Pirates Report.com says that it's unlikely Jack Wilson and Freddy Sanchez sign extensions. This morning we learned that the Bucs lowballed both players with their offers.
Jason Schmidt will return to the Dodgers' rotation on Monday, reports MLB.com's Ken Gurnick. It'll be just his seventh start for the Dodgers since signing his three year, $47MM deal in Decemeber 2006, and his first since June 16th of 2007.
The Cubs have signed second round pick D.J. LeMahieu, according to Carrie Muskat of MLB.com. LeMahieu was the 79th overall pick in last month's draft, which has an expected slot recommendation of around $460k.
Bronson Arroyo wants to see the Reds kept together at the trade deadline rather than having the veterans sold off, says MLB.com's Mark Sheldon.

Cubs, Cards & Mets Asked About Lugo

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 17, 2009 at 2:56pm CDT

The Cubs, Cardinals and Mets have shown some interest in Red Sox shortstop Julio Lugo, according to Steve Buckley of the Boston Herald. The Red Sox will have to pay all of the $13.5MM remaining on Lugo's deal if they release him, so they're likely to pick up the vast majority of the contract in any trade.

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