Cardinals "Seriously Considering" Trading For Matt Holliday

by Matt Buggenhagen on Jul 23, 2009 7:44 PM EDT

John Heyman tweets that the Cardinals are "seriously pursuing Matt Holliday." Heyman also said that any deal for Holliday most likely would include Cardinals third base prospect Brett Wallace.

Wallace, the Cardinals 2008 first round draft pick currently plays for their Triple-A affiliate Memphis. The former Sun Devil is widely considered one of the top prospects in the Cardinal organization. John Sickels of Minor League Ball ranks him as the second best prospect in the Cardinals system. Furthermore, Sickels said Wallace has a "Monster bat and should be ready within a year."

Wallace has been performing very well at the Class-AAA level. He's currently batting .298 with six homers and 19 RBI's in only 32 games.

The Cardinals have been searching for a bat to protect Albert Pujols, and many believe Holliday would be the perfect compliment. Holliday's numbers are down somewhat this year (.287/.379/.453) from his career averages (.316/.385/.541), but considering he's in a pitchers friendly park they're still more than respectable.

The Cardinals are in the midst of a very tough pennant race in the NL Central, and acquiring a player of Holliday's caliber could be the move that puts them over the top. They certainly haven't been shy about making moves so far as they've already traded for infielder's Mark DeRosa and Julio Lugo.

The Cardinals probably will have to contend with both the Tigers and the Yankees to obtain Holliday's services, but I have to imagine if they're willing to give up Wallace they have a pretty strong shot.

Holliday signed a one-year $13.5 million contract this offseason, and he's scheduled to be a free agent after the season. Any team looking to add Holliday this season would probably be on the hook for about $7 million that is still remaining on his contract.

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Is this deal going to be Holliday for Wallace straight up?

If so, then beane really stepped back from his original asking price of 2 top prospects. Maybe if the A’s send cash the Cards way then more prospects will be included? I like Wallace, but I dont love the deal if it is straight up.
I would have much rather liked a package that included Todd Frazier from the reds, but I guess Bruce going down stopped the reds from being buyers…

What you fail to understand in your joyless myopia is that baseball is the key to life-- the Rosetta Stone, if you will. If you just understood baseball better all your other questions your, your... the, uh... the aliens, the conspiracies they would all, in their way be answered by the baseball gods.

by winchester5 on Jul 23, 2009 7:59 PM EDT reply actions

Holliday/Wallace

I doubt the deal will be straight up. I just think Wallace is going to be the centerpiece, but most likely they’ll have to throw in some low level prospects as well.

by Matt Buggenhagen on Jul 23, 2009 8:29 PM EDT up reply actions

i like it then

by winchester5 on Jul 23, 2009 8:34 PM EDT up reply actions

I think Oakland

should give back Barton to St. Louis and take two more up and coming players.

by A'Seahawks_Warriors on Jul 23, 2009 8:06 PM EDT reply actions

hollidays stats are .287/.379.453

by Asfan4ever723 on Jul 23, 2009 8:38 PM EDT reply actions

Thanks

Mistake on my part. Got it corrected. Sometimes I have a hundred screens open pulling numbers from all the place, and somehow I must have input the wrong ones. Thanks for catching the mistake.

by Matt Buggenhagen on Jul 23, 2009 9:40 PM EDT up reply actions

From the Cards' perspective

I’m just not so sure I could see it. If they were to make this deal (particularly adding players beyond Wallace), Mozeliak probably wouldn’t hear the end of it. Considering that the last time the Cardinals dealt with Beane and the A’s, they gave up Dan Haren (who was probably the better pitcher as soon as… oh… the first season after the trade), Kiko Calero, and Barton for Mark Mulder, I would think that the Cardinals would shy away from dealing with Beane for a little while.

In this particular case, they’d obviously be trading the potential of Wallace for the steady but unspectacular (outside of Coors) bat of Holliday. As Holliday’s still just 29, they wouldn’t necessarily be mortgaging the future assuming that they could lock Holliday up to an extension. Either way, Wallace figures to probably be as productive as Holliday as soon as 2011 and will be a lot cheaper.

Despite the fact that he’s improved quite a bit as the year’s gone on, I’m thinking that the Holliday situation is starting to become a nightmare for Beane. He’s either going to have to trade him or he’s going to have to offer him arbitration in hopes that he doesn’t accept it, because the A’s are gonna be on the hook for his $15 million (mas o menos) arbitration reward if he accepts it. They won’t get the draft pick compensation unless they offer him that arbitration, though. Toss in the current state of the economy and the fact that players who weren’t the absolute elite (which, after a solid to strong performance this season, I don’t think is a category that Holliday is in) free agents last season didn’t even sniff $15 million, and Holliday’s best option is probably going to be to accept arbitration and hope that the economy is bouncing back a little more in 2010/11.

Without a guarantee of an extension, I think the Cardinals would be stupid to deal Wallace straight up for Holliday. Even with a guaranteed extension, I would question the move.

by bluelineswinger on Jul 23, 2009 9:45 PM EDT reply actions

Um, no offense, but any GM who would not instantly accept a one-year non-guaranteed extension for Matt Holliday at $15M

should be keel-hauled under a supertanker and then tossed into the Mariana Trench, for the good of the species.

Linda's in the cold ground, won't see her anymore
Somewhere out on the highway tonight, the drunken engines roar
It's just one of those things, one of those things
-- Al Stewart, "Accident on 3rd St."
In memory of Nick Adenhart and all victims of drunk driving

by PaulThomas on Jul 24, 2009 2:08 AM EDT up reply actions

Seriously.

Also, Hey PT. Been awhile.

"I’m Joey Devine, I’m what Joba Chamberlain would be if he was good and nobody had ever heard of him."

by mikev on Jul 24, 2009 3:32 AM EDT up reply actions

Holliday is a Boras client

Boras had Manny opt out of his contract. He had A-Rod opt out of his. He refuses to even discuss extensions for most of his clients. I am a Cards fan hoping against hope that they can get an extension done, but if they don’t, they will offer him arbitration and he will decline. There is no doubt about that.

by Huck Finn on Jul 24, 2009 12:33 PM EDT up reply actions

If the A’s get Wallace for Holliday, that’s a steal. 6 years of Wallace is way better than .5 years of Holliday and two picks. Holliday guarantees the Cards a post-season trip but no World Series trip, they need pitching more than hitting. Absolute steal for the A’s if this goes through

by McCann's the Man on Jul 24, 2009 12:02 AM EDT reply actions