Cards take a Holliday!!

The St. Louis Cardinals have made the first splash in the trade market leading up to this year's deadline by acquiring slugging outfielder Matt Holliday from the Oakland A's in exchange for three prospects.

3B Brett Wallace, St. Louis' top prospect was originally selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 42nd round of the 2005 draft but didn't sign. He was later selected by the Cardinals, 13th overall in the 2008 draft. Wallace, a power hitting corner infielder who many think may end up at first long-term (making him expendable in St. Louis), is the marquee prospect in the deal and should be one of the top 20 players selected in ThaGreenMonster's 2010 Entry Draft. The A's also received 24-year old right-hander Clayton Mortensen (supplemental 1st rounder 2007) and outfielder Shane Peterson (2nd rounder 2008).

Matt Holliday's value gets a significant bump, moving away from the vast Oakland Colliseum into a much more hitter friendly Busch Stadium, not to mention getting to hit behind "El Hombre" Albert Pujols. At $29, The Degenerates now has a harder decision to make regarding Holliday's future. If he had remained in Oakland it appeared unlikely that he was worth signing at a cost of $29. Now, perhaps things have changed. At the very least, he has become a lot more attractive to other managers and has increased his trade value.

It will be interesting to see what happens with Holliday, who has not put up the kind of numbers expected from $25+ outfielders this year.

He certainly got off on the right foot, going 4-for-5 with a SB in his debut with the Cards, batting cleanup behind Pujols.