Cardinals Trade Colby Rasmus to Toronto
Added on Jul 27, 2011 by Scott in
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While the NFL is trying to jam five months of business into five days, the baseball trade market has kinda become an afterthought. With Sunday’s deadline approaching fast, contenders are aligning cash and prospects to help bolster their chances of reaching the playoffs. The Cardinals are one such contender that helped their cause today by shipping center fielder Colby Rasmus to Toronto in an eight-player deal that included starting pitcher Edwin Jackson.
The 24-year-old Rasmus is considered a rising young talent, although he has struggled in 2011 after hitting .276 with 23 homers and 66 RBI in 2010. In 94 games this season, he is batting .246 with 11 home runs and 40 RBI. With Jon Jay’s ability to hit left-handed pitching, Rasmus became expendable. Couple that with the team’s need for another quality starter in Jackson, the deal makes perfect sense.
Jackson, who was traded earlier today from Chicago to Toronto, doesn’t have to worry about getting his Canadian passport because he won’t even suit up for the Jays. St. Louis will be the seventh team in nine years for the well-traveled Jackson, and his fourth since the beginning of 2010.
In 19 starts this season, he is 7-7 with a 3.92 ERA. His best campaign came in 2009 while a member of the Tigers; he was 13-9 with a 3.62 ERA and 161 strikeouts.
The Cardinals also acquired relief pitchers Marc Rzepczynski and Octavio Dotel, and outfielder Corey Patterson. Rzepczynski is 2-3 with 33 strikeouts in 39.1 innings. Dotel is 2-1 with one save in 29.1 innings. Patterson, who should take Rasmus’s spot in the outfield rotation, is hitting .252 with 6 dingers and 33 RBI in 89 games played.
In exchange, Toronto received pitchers Trever Miller, Brian Tallet and P.J. Walters. Tallet and Walters have combined to pitch only 17 innings, while Miller is likely headed to the White Sox as part of the compensation for the Jackson deal.
St. Louis is engaged in a fierce four-way battle in the NL Central with Milwaukee, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. Only five games separate the four teams, with the Cards currently holding a tenuous .5 lead in the division.
Source: ESPN.com
