The Cardinals have plenty in the outfield. It seems to me they would do better improving the infield. Perhaps something in a Brian Roberts?

Not *THE* Emilio Bonifacio! I'd be very disappointed in Huntington if that's all he got for Bay (and in the Braves - surely they can beat that offer without dealing Heyward, can't they?).

Why would the Cards want Bay? The Cards need 1. Starters 2. Relievers 3. Middle Infielders. Corner OF does not appear on that list. And if Rasmus gets traded for anyone less than Hanley Ramirez or someone there will be hell to pay.

The Orioles can send Bradford or Sherrill along with Roberts for relief help.

What can the Cards offer other than Rasmus?

yes, THE e-bone!
the thing is, if the dbacks trade e-bone, they'd have chris burke as hudson's heir at 2b.
and at this point, i'd much rather have chris de burgh in sedona red than burke's weakass bat

anyhow, this is interesting news. and yes, jason bay can play on my team any day of the week and twice on sunday

What can the Cards offer other than Rasmus?

Chris Duncan, for starters.

The Pirates are believed to be seeking Arizona’s top prospect Emilio Bonifacio, a second baseman, in a package. The Diamondbacks are reluctant to deal Bonifacio since Orlando Hudson may leave as a free agent after the year.

This is retarded. Every time the Dodgers ask for about a player, the return is always Kemp/Loney/Billingsley/etc.

But the Dbacks are allowed to be reluctant about Emilio Bonifacio? Eat #### and die MLB.

at this point, i'd much rather have chris de burgh in sedona red

And I'm sure he feels likewise. "Levski in Red" could the song to resuscitate his career.

With Byrnes out for the year youd think the D-backs would jump at a chance to make a deal when Bonafacio would be the best player in the deal that you give up. Does this guy have an asset besides being able to run? The dropoff from O-Dog to Bonafacio next year will be huge.

Xavier Nady is not an "emerging star."

You have to believe the Pirates are holding out for someone like Scherzer or a comparable prospect/young player.

It just doesn't make sense. Emilio Bonafacio!?!? come on.

What can the Cards offer other than Rasmus?

Chris Duncan, for starters.

I'm sure they'll try to pawn Anthony Reyes off.

Acquire Bay, and bench Skip "Better than Alfonso Soriano" Schumaker???

Guffaw!

Xavier Nady is not an "emerging star."

I agree. He's more like a Bok globule.

This is retarded. Every time the Dodgers ask for about a player, the return is always Kemp/Loney/Billingsley/etc.

Actually, I'd think it'd be LaRoche/Kemp. LaRoche can't get off the bench even though DeWitt can't hit, and Kemp is the cause of every problem in LA for the past two years.

I'm guess the Orioles would be willing to take Duncan and Reyes, but I don't think they add much value from their perspective.

If the Orioles give up Roberts, they'll be looking for younger, higher-upside talent with little-or-no MLB service time. Their biggest organizational need is 2B/SS/3B, and they'll always want more starting pitching (even though they have some pretty good SP depth in their system).

30 35 .298 .364 .441 113
15 46 .283 .332 .547 124

first number is BB, second is SO. the last number is OPS+. one of these guys is 32 and has been injured. the other is 28.

fine, maybe skip will never get better, but it could also be true that alfonso is getting older and isn't going to keep it up.

this year, they are not that far apart. but i won't keep channeling my buddy cardsfanboy.

the cards need a better bat in the outfield cuz ludwick and ankiel are coming back to earth. they have duncan to trade and keep schumaker as a role player, with colby rasmus too far off to plug in now.

what's weird is that there isn't any big scramble in st. louis for pitching. i'm wondering if wainwright and carpenter are pretty close to being ready ...

as for relief pitching, well, it looks like they are going to try to let duncan cover izzy with his pixie dust and see what happens.

i'm not saying it'll work. just thinking out loud.

If the Pirates are holding out for Bonifacio, my question is why is Josh Byrnes waiting? Bonifacio isn't that good; he has no power and doesn't get on base enough to make up for it.

-- MWE

Correct, Nady is not an emerging star, but Heyman is a Boras mouthpiece. Guess who represents Nady? And IIRC, Nady is close to free agency.

If the Pirates are holding out for Bonifacio, my question is why is Josh Byrnes waiting? Bonifacio isn't that good; he has no power and doesn't get on base enough to make up for it.

Josh Byrnes and the Arizona scouts are in their own little world.

The Pirates are believed to be seeking Arizona’s top prospect Emilio Bonifacio, a second baseman, in a package.

I suspect the package might be the problem. Of course, in my world, the package includes Eric Byrnes

TradingBay in a deal where Bonifacio was the main return would be a disaster. It's crazy enough that I can't really believe it's true.

The Cards have some things that'd be good in trade, with Rasmus's name near the top of the list. Duncan ain't on it at all, though.

My guess is the Pirates are blowing smoke up Heyman's behind to drum up Bay's trade value.
I cannot for the life of me see how the Dbacks could afford Bay in a trade.

I seriously doubt the D backs have what it takes to get Bay, or rather, would be willing to give up what it would take to get Bay. It sure as heck isn't Bonifacio.

hey, gotta like Bonifacio, guy's got the good face!

They're trying to drum up Bay's trade value by saying the Dbacks wouldn't give up this Bonifacio guy for him? Does not sound like a good way to do it.

The Red Sox should really be in on this. Bay is a great replacement for Manny next year and a great fill-in for Ortiz this year.

26: Not by throwing out Bonifacio but by bringing in the Dbacks. IIRC, rumors persisted the Dodgers wanted Wilson and potentially Bay. Of course, the Dodgers front office seems more disturbed and disoriented by the Dbacks front office right now. So how do you get the Dodgers to jump? You mention the Dbacks and a crappy infielder. Ya gotta figure the Colletti will get on the phone and say "I can do better than that! Here, take my wife and Fernando Valenzuela's XXL jeans! And those cancers Kemp, LaRoche, and... and Hu? Who is Hu? Hu gives a crap? Just take them all."

Personally if I were Theo I'd try to trade Manny to the Mets and get either Bay or Holliday. Although I'm not sure what the Mets would be able and/or willing to offer after emptying out their farm so recently.

Acquire Bay, and bench Skip "Better than Alfonso Soriano" Schumaker???

Guffaw!

Try to get through just one day of your life without being a silly little prick.

Like every other team in baseball, the Cards could use Jason Bay, but he doesn't fill any real needs. The Cards have Reyes and Duncan to spin, but I see no reason why the Pirates would take either one for Bay. Rasmus is the crown jewel of the minor league system and isn't going anywhere, particularly for a superfluous piece like Bay. Anderson might be moved, but the most obvious match--Seattle--doesn't have need of catching prospects who can hit.

It's more likely that Mo snags a Springer-esque reliever and a #4 starting pitcher for peanuts while he waits for Carpenter to return.

Personally if I were Theo I'd try to trade Manny to the Mets and get either Bay or Holliday.

And then get Kazmir and Nathan and Hamilton for center and Chase Utley and then you move Petunia to SS. Voila!

Manny's got 10-5 rights and I doubt he's going to the NL if he has a choice, what with his current fragility. Not sure if the Mets like him all that much either. Plus I don't think the Mets have Bay or Holliday to trade back in return. How about that FMart guy? Or clubhouse cancer and all-around dog Jose Reyes.

Yes Levski, obviously trading for Holliday or Bay is a completely unrealistic possibility for the Red Sox.

If the D-backs acquired Bay for Herb Washington II, I'm making two immediate assumptions:

1. Jason Bay is the toastiest toast that ever toasted toast.
2. Emilio Bonifacio is the next Joe Morgan.

If the Cardinals trade Colby Rasmus for Jason Bay and Damaso Marte, I'll go on a ####### killing spree.

34: Oh, it is. Heck, I just traded for Bay in my fantasy league -- and all I gave up was Damaso Marte and Adam LaRoche!
It was like Pirates of my Caribbean Island Fantasy

Manny's got 10-5 rights and I doubt he's going to the NL if he has a choice, what with his current fragility. Not sure if the Mets like him all that much either. Plus I don't think the Mets have Bay or Holliday to trade back in return. How about that FMart guy? Or clubhouse cancer and all-around dog Jose Reyes.

I thought the Red Sox were only interested in acquiring shortstops who can't hit.

You have to think that the Mets are going to do something for their corner OF situation with Alou officially out for the year and Church questionable. Endy Chavez and Fernando Tatis are not going to cut it in the outfield corners. I don't think the Mets really have the prospects to look at acquiring a premium OF like Bay or Holliday, but Manny and cash for some of their lesser guys is probably a feasible situation. Even though he can't DH, Endy is a perfect caddy for Manny close and late like the Phillies do with Taguchi/Werth replacing Burrell. The Mets also pretty badly need another solid RH bat, as their lineup this year has frequently included 3 or 4 lefties in a row in the middle to lower half of the order.

I could see Epstein making a deal like this and trading some of their top prospects to get an elite player to replace Manny as a longer term solution. It's the same idea as trading Nomar in 2004 was. Manny is a guy who is superficially playing well if you just look at offensive numbers, but he's easier to upgrade with a more balanced player. Something like Masterson - (Prospect acquired from Mets) - Lars Anderson would seem to be a good starting point for Bay, although you'd probably need to add another player if you wanted to seriously go after Holliday. Bowden is another guy who has been putting up great numbers and could be part of such a deal.

There we go again with "Manny and the Mets"... This is so 2005... or was it 2006? Or 2007?
If it were just a piece of cake to dump Manny on the Mets and get Bay/Holliday for the junk in Theo's trunk, it would've been done yesterday

I don't know what the Mets would realistically offer for Manny that the Mets would take. F-Mart certainly isn't on the table. Probably not Jon Niese either and I do not think Nick Evans and Mike Carp are enough.

If the Cardinals trade Colby Rasmus for Jason Bay and Damaso Marte, I'll go on a ####### killing spree.

I was going to say "punch through every wall in my house," but I'll now defer to your intensity.

Let's make it just like the Nomar trade. We'll throw in Josh Reddick and get back Endy Chavez + Tony Clark.

I can't think of any scenario where the Cardinals would trade Rasmus for hitting help; they'd be more likely to call him up themselves.

-- MWE

I would love to get Bay because he is an improvement, but I'm not really a big fan of making a slight improvement over an already strength (at least for in season deals) I would prefer to get a 1. relief pitcher 2. secondbase/shortstop 3.starting pitcher....outfield is pretty far down the list of necessary imrprovements. (and I'm sorry but Ankiel is as good as he's played, and in my opinion, which is of course the minority, Ludwick is as good as he's played)

I mean a team with a poor outfielder, like Fukodome should attempt to acquire Bay. (I mean they need someone to play on the road) but I don't see the Cardinals as a team in dire need for an outfielder.

have to agree Emeigh, I just don't see them trading Rasmus for offense, it doesn't make that much sense.

An online report that had the Diamondbacks aggressively pursuing Pittsburgh Pirates left fielder Jason Bay, one of the top outfielders believed to be available for trade, was inaccurate, a club executive said.

One player the Diamondbacks have at least discussed internally: Seattle Mariners outfielder Raul Ibanez. The left-handed hitting Ibanez is batting .273 with 10 home runs and 53 RBIs.

Link

Nah, I'd pass on Manny, unless it were a pure salary dump. Too much of a liability on the field at this point.

"I cannot for the life of me see how the Dbacks could afford Bay in a trade."

Scherzer? Not saying it'd be a good idea, just that it'd work.

"I would prefer to get a ... 2. secondbase/shortstop"

How about a slightly used Jack Wilson?