Why the Cardinals Must Add Matt Holliday
Stan McNeal - SportingNews.com
Jun 18, 2009
After putting their rebuilding plan on hold and acquiring several veteran hitters this past offseason, the A's are buried in the A.L. West cellar. With the trading deadline six weeks away, Oakland soon should be a seller. And that means outfielder Matt Holliday likely will finish the season with a different team. But which team needs him most?
Chris Bahr says the Mets are the team that should covet Holliday the most, but Stan McNeal explains why Holliday is needed most in St. Louis:
As soon as possible, Cardinals general manager/vice president John Mozeliak should contact Billy Beane, his counterpart in Oakland, and make him an offer he can't refuse for outfielder Matt Holliday. The Cardinals need the A's slugger as much as St. Louis needs air conditioning in July.
Two reasons: Albert Pujols today and Albert Pujols tomorrow.
Let's look at today first. With Holliday hitting behind Pujols, St. Louis would have the best 3-4 tandem in the N.L. The Cardinals certainly need help for Pujols. They have tried seven hitters in the cleanup spot and, as a unit, rank last among N.L. cleanup hitters in batting average and OPS.
At the end of April, you might not have taken Holliday over outfielder Ryan Ludwick, the Cardinals' primary cleanup hitter. Ludwick started the 2009 season like he hit in 2008, when he broke out with 37 homers, 113 RBIs and a .299 average. Holliday didn't homer until April 30 and finished the month hitting .240.
Since May, Holliday has raised his game while Ludwick has struggled after spending time on the disabled list (hamstring). Entering Thursday's play, Ludwick is hitting .236 with nine homers, 32 RBIs and a .298 on-base percentage. Holliday is hitting .275 with eight homers, 38 RBIs and a .374 on-base percentage.
If you're the Cardinals and you factor in Holliday's and Ludwick's 2009 numbers with their career numbers, which player would you rather have hitting behind Pujols?
Sure, Holliday is more expensive than Ludwick. That brings us to reason No. 2.
Pujols, 29, has two more seasons on his contract, but the Cardinals already must be scheming about how to keep him. They can't count on him signing another below-market-value deal (seven years, $100 million) like he did in 2004. He now is the consensus best player in the game and could pursue Alex Rodriguez-type money.
No matter what Pujols wants, the Cardinals pretty much have to give it to him. He means as much to St. Louis as LeBron James means to Cleveland.
Pujols maintains that playing for a contender is more important than squeezing every last dollar out of a deal. But since winning the 2006 World Series, the Cardinals have focused a tad more on the bottom line than the W-L column. By trading for Holliday, the Cardinals would show Pujols a commitment he would appreciate. Re-signing Holliday when he becomes a free agent in November would show even more.
The Cardinals don't reside in a mega market, so maybe they can't afford Holliday and Pujols long-term. That shouldn't stop them from trying. At worst, a Holliday rental could mean as much to St. Louis as lefthander CC Sabathia meant to Milwaukee last season.
Given St. Louis' reputation as a baseball town, Cardinals fans could live with a jump in ticket prices if it meant having Pujols and Holliday in the same lineup. And if the unfathomable happened and Pujols left, at least St. Louis still would have Holliday.
Stan McNeal is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at smcneal@sportingnews.com.
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