Holliday Trade Boosts Cards' Present, Future
Stan McNeal - SportingNews.com
Jul 24, 2009
As much as trading for Matt Holliday helps the Cardinals right now, the move is even more important to their future.
Why? Albert Pujols. In St. Louis, it is all about Albert Pujols. As it should be.
The Cardinals know they must do whatever they can to keep Pujols in St. Louis for as long as they can. The city's reputation as Baseball Heaven rides on it. Pujols means as much to the Cardinals as Fenway Park means to the Red Sox or Wrigley Field means to the Cubs.
Basically, Pujols is the franchise.
Pujols is signed through the 2011 season, but the Cardinals know there is no time to waste. They will pay him $16 million in each of the next two seasons, the last year being a team option. As ridiculous as that money sounds to you and me, $32 million of Pujols for two years is a bargain in baseball. Alex Rodriguez, for example, is making $32 million this year.
Pujols doesn't talk about his next contract, other than saying money isn't everything. He says he will stay in St. Louis only if the Cardinals show they want to win as much as he does. The agents and general managers to whom I have talked say they believe Pujols will not demand A-Rod money if he thinks the Cardinals are serious about surrounding him with capable players.
Trading for Holliday is a huge step in that direction. Holliday was the best slugger on the market, and the Cardinals acted boldly. Pujols will have to like the move, even if it proves to be a short-term rental.
Holliday can become a free agent after the season and his agent is Scott Boras, so signing him to a long-term contract won't be easy. Holliday's bat will have a lot to say about his future in St. Louis. If he thrives upon his return to the N.L. and helps the Cardinals play into deep October, the club will be much more inclined to open its checkbook to the neighborhood of five years and $70-$75 million. If Holliday doesn't produce, the Cardinals still can look at Pujols and say, "At least we tried."
Manager Tony La Russa also will applaud the move to get Holliday, and the organization needs to make sure La Russsa is content, too. His contract is up after this season and if he doesn't like the direction of the team, he could head elsewhere. La Russa leaving would not sit well with Pujols.
In addition, the Cardinals also must be pleased because they did not overextend to get Holliday, even convincing the A's to kick in $1.5 million to pay the $6 million remaining on his salary. The club has been reluctant to part with top prospects but did by sending third baseman Brett Wallace to Oakland general manager Billy Beane.
Wallace is considered a future .300 hitter with 25-homer potential. But he is best suited to DH or play first base, so his future in St. Louis likely was as a trade chip anyway. The other prospects the Cardinals sent to Oakland were high draft picks but are not considered to be impact players. Righthander Clayton Mortensen is a sinkerballer who could become a middle-of-the-rotation starter. Shane Peterson is an outfielder with little power but good speed.
As for the now, the first-place Cardinals just became the favorites to win the N.L. Central. The club has struggled to score since the end of April but dramatically improved its lineup with Holliday and the recent trade for infielder/outfielder Mark DeRosa. The low-risk addition of shortstop Julio Lugo this week also could help.
A month ago, the Cardinals were surrounding Pujols with a slumping Ryan Ludwick, a slumping Khalil Greene and a slumping tandem of Chris Duncan and Rick Ankiel. Now they'll have Holliday to hit cleanup behind Pujols, a hot-hitting Ryan Ludwick in the 5-hole and DeRosa in the 6-hole or the 2-hole.
Those are changes that will please Pujols, today and tomorrow.
Stan McNeal is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at smcneal@sportingnews.com.
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