The St. Louis Cardinals have finally found slugger Albert Pujols some protection in the lineup, as the Red Birds traded three minor league prospects to the A’s in exchange for outfielder Matt Holliday according to ESPN.com.

One of those three minor leaguers was Brett Wallace, who was Baseball America’s 40th-best prospect entering the season, while the other two were 24-year old right-hander Clayton Mortensen and outfielder Shane Peterson, who was a second rounder in 2008. Apparently Oakland will also chip in $1.5 million to help pay for some of the $6 million still left on Holliday’s contract.

After a slow start, Holliday is now hitting .286 with 11 home runs and 54 RBI. He instantly makes the Cardinals the favorites to win the NL Central and challenge the Dodgers and Phillies for the NL Pennant by adding much-needed protection behind Pujols in the lineup. His presence in the order should also make players like Mark DeRosa and Ryan Ludwick better as well.

Billy Beane once again did well in a trade. The Oakland GM wanted to get Holliday’s contract off the books (or as much of it as he could), but he also didn’t want to just stick a for sale sign in Holliday’s forehead and give him away for free after trading multiple players to acquire him from Colorado last winter. With Holliday set to become a free agent at the end of the season, Beane did well to not only shed salary, but also get one of the Cards’ best prospects in Wallace.

What will be interesting to keep an eye on over the next two weeks as the trade deadline approaches, is whether or not the Cubs or Brewers will make a big move to counter this trade. Chicago doesn’t have much to offer in its farm system, but Milwaukee, as usual, is stacked and could look to add a pitcher. Although it would require giving up a haul, it’ll be interesting to see if the Brew Crew makes a run at Roy Halladay or the Tribe’s Cliff Lee.

It’s safe to say that this past offseason has been one of the worst for Jim Hendry during his tenure as General Manager of the Chicago Cubs. The Los Angeles Dodgers made a mockery of the Cubs’ right-handed lineup in the playoffs by not throwing a single left-handed pitcher at them, and the Cubs responded to this glaring weakness by trading Mark DeRosa, the most versatile and well-liked player on the team – not to mention cheap, since he was in line to make an affordable $5.5 million in the final year of his contract – in order to free up some cash to sign a left-handed power hitter. For God knows what reason, Hendry doesn’t even make an attempt to sign Raul Ibanez, a clubhouse prince who is good for 25 home runs and 100 RBIs year in and year out. Nope, Hendry set his sights on Milton Bradley, a talented but mercurial journeyman (the Cubs are the eighth team he’s played for since his Major League debut in 2000) who just happened to put up career numbers in a contract year. The words “career numbers” sound good, but they come with one big-ass asterisk. Take a look at Bradley’s career year numbers versus the 2008 stat lines of DeRosa and Ibanez:

Raul Ibanez: .292-85-23-110-2
Mark DeRosa: .285-104-21-87-6
Milton Bradley .321-78-22-77-5

It’s a pretty average stat line as career numbers go, and don’t forget that he put up those numbers primarily as a DH, and he still only played 126 games due to nagging injuries. Yep, this is the man that the Cubs hoped would save them, to the tune of three years and $30 million. To add insult to injury, DeRosa now plays for the rival Cardinals.

“Let’s see, if I strike out like that 100 more times this year…I still make $7 million! Ahhhh hahahahahahaha!”

And would you look at that; now that Bradley has his money, he can’t hit water if he fell out of a boat. Well, let’s qualify that — he’s actually hitting .333…from the right side of the plate. He’s hitting .194 as a lefty, has been suspended for bumping an umpire, sent home by his manager after trashing yet another water cooler, and poisoned yet another clubhouse with his unpredictable temper. Bradley said before the season started that he had changed, that those days of flying off the handle (remember when he tore his ACL yelling at an umpire?) were long gone. How on earth did the Cubs believe him? Didn’t they see the “South Park” movie? Bad people always say they’ll change, but they never do.

So what do the Cubs do with Bradley now? He’s expected to take the next two days off to work on his approach from the left side of the plate with new hitting coach Von Joshua. A good start, but we have some other, admittedly extreme suggestions to the Bradley problem that we think the Cubs brass should consider.

According to a report by the St. Louis Dispatch, the Cardinals are “redoubling efforts� to acquire A’s outfielder Matt Holliday, who is 29 and will be a free agent at the end of the season.

Even though the club acquired utility man Mark DeRosa from the Indians over the weekend, St. Louis manager Tony La Russa still wants to add a bat to serve as protection for Albert Pujols, who is essentially exposed in the Cards’ lineup with nobody hitting around him.

Holliday certainly isn’t setting the world on fire with his bat (he’s hitting just .274 with 8 HRs and 39 RBI) this season, but he could certainly get hot in the second half, especially if he winds up back in the NL were he’s used to the pitching.

The Cards actually tried to acquire Holliday last fall, but weren’t unwilling to part with the prospects that the Rockies wanted in order to complete the deal. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch speculates that the Red Birds would be willing to include Ryan Ludwick and either reliever Jason Motte or Kyle McClellan, plus a prospect.

St. Louis already has enough offense to battle the Brewers in the NL Central, but if they could acquire Holliday to go along with the addition of DeRosa, the Cards might be able to create some separation in the division.

One of the more coveted veterans on the trade market has officially been snatched by the Cardinals, as the Red Birds acquired super utility man Mark DeRosa from the Indians in exchange for pitcher Chris Perez and a player to be named later.

The versatile DeRosa was a very sought-after player, especially by National League clubs. He can fit as a third baseman for the Cardinals. The Giants, Mets, Braves and Cubs were other teams believed to have had some interest. The Indians have been shopping him for a couple weeks.

DeRosa, who the Indians acquired from the Chicago Cubs in a trade last offseason, was hitting .270 with 13 homers and 50 RBIs.

Perez has a 4.18 ERA in 29 appearances with a 1-1 record and one save.

Both teams essentially get what they wanted with this trade. Cleveland coveted a young pitcher (Perez is only 24) in exchange for DeRosa (who becomes a free agent at the end of the year) and St. Louis wanted to add another bat to protect Albert Pujols in the lineup. They also needed help on the left side of the infield, which DeRosa can certainly offer.

Kind of rough market when Mark DeRosa is one of the more coveted players, although that’s not a dig at DeRosa, who can play almost every position and is a solid hitter. But one year ago CC Sabathia was the top name making its rounds on the rumor mill, while two years ago it was Mark Teixeira. DeRosa doesn’t really compare to those names now does he?

- According to SI.com, the Mariners have yet to receive any interest for third baseman Adrian Beltre, who Seattle would love to move because he’s in the last year of his $64 million contract.

- One name that continues to be involved almost daily on the rumor mill is Indians utility man Mark DeRosa. According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, the Cardinals and Yankees have expressed interest in DeRosa, but neither are willing to give up young pitching like Cleveland covets.

- The Mets are rumored to be interested in DeRosa, Nationals first baseman Nick Johnson and Orioles one-bagger Aubrey Huff, but Newsday’s Ken Davidoff writes that the club shouldn’t make any stupid trades just to fill a spot while Carlos Beltran is on the DL.

- MLB.com reports that the Diamondbacks could become sellers soon and that pitchers Doug Davis and Jon Garland, as well as second baseman Felipe Lopez could all be on the trade block.

- The Phillies want to add an arm, but the pitchers they’re looking at (Erik Bedard, Jake Peavy, Aaron Harang, Bronson Arroyo and Jason Marquis) are either hurt or playing for contending teams.

- The Dodgers have interest in Seattle pitcher Jarrod Washburn according to MLB Fanhouse and Juan Pierre’s name has come up as a potential trade piece.

I get it – baseball trades are fun. They’re fun to speculate about, they’re fun to debate and they’re fun to analyze. But just because a club needs a bat, an arm or is just looking to shrink salary, doesn’t mean that a trade needs to happen.

I’ve compiled a list of five trade rumors and where they originated. I then discuss why each of them makes sense, but why they also don’t necessarily need to happen.

Rumor #1: The Red Sox will trade for Pirates shortstop Jack Wilson (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Why it makes sense: Boston is growing impatient waiting for Jed Lowrie to recover from a wrist injury that has held him out since mid-April. They’re also tired of watching Julio Lugo (who is equally bad offensively as he is defensively) make a mockery of the game whenever he trots onto the field. While Nick Green has done well filling in for Lowrie while he’s been hurt and for Lugo while he continues to work on being the most overpaid player in professional sports, the Sox feel they could do better with Wilson. (There’s also a rumor making the rounds that Boston wouldn’t have to give up any top prospects in order to acquire Wilson – they just would need to take on the rest of his salary.)
Why it doesn’t need to happen: Wilson is excellent defensively, but he brings very little to the table in terms of offense. He’s also overpaid himself, as he’ll make $7.25 million this year and $8.4 million in 2010 despite being limited at the dish. While waiting for Lowrie to return to the field has been a slow death for the Sox, he’s cheaper than Wilson and gives the team a better overall player at the position (when he’s healthy, of course). Plus, Green has played well and Boston might be better served holding onto prospects in order to make a more productive move around the trade deadline (i.e. adding another bat in case David Oritz plans on hitting south of .200 all season) than one involving Wilson.

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With their 11-10 win over the Rays on Monday night, the Indians became the first team to win a game after trailing by 10 runs since the Rangers rallied to beat the Tigers in 2004.

Thanks to another brutal performance by Fausto Carmona in which he walked the first four men he faced in the second inning on 20 pitches and gave up five runs while getting only one out, the Tribe fell behind 5-0 after only two innings. Cleveland then surrendered five more runs to fall behind 10-0 after three and a half innings before scratching across two runs in the fourth and two more in the eighth to make it 10-4 Rays.

The massive rally in the ninth started when Grady Sizemore walked, Victor Martinez popped out to third, Jhonny Peralta singled to left and then a throwing error on a ground ball by Shin-Soo Choo allowed Sizemore to score and Peralta to get to third. Mark DeRosa then lined out for the second out of the inning, but Ryan Garko belted a three-run dinger to cut Tampa’s lead down to 10-8. After Asdrubal Cabrera, Ben Francisco and Jamey Carroll all walked, Rays’ reliever Jason Isringhausen then walked Sizemore to force a run home to make the game 10-9. The final dagger for Tampa came when Martinez singled home Francisco and Carroll to give the Indians an improbable 11-10 win.

It’s amazing how games can turn in the blink of an eye. Had Rays’ shortstop Reid Brignac not made a throwing error on Choo’s grounder, Tampa probably would have turned a double play and the game would have been over. But one thing leads to the next and before you know it, your team loses. (Of course, the 67 walks in the ninth didn’t help the Rays either.)

Despite the win, Carmona once again had major control issues. It’s amazing to think that he was viewed as one of the better young arms in baseball just two years ago and now he’s on a crash course to baseball purgatory. Also, top pitching prospect David Price failed to get out of the fourth inning in his debut, although he did strike out six. Like Carmona, Price had major issues with his control and threw 100 pitches to record just 10 outs. He walked five in total.

It’s hard to believe the start of baseball season is next week. It seems like a very short time ago when the Phillies and Rays were playing a Game 5 of the World Series in frigid Philly, having to suspend it and pick up the next night. It seemed like nothing was going to stop that Phillies team, much to the dismay of this Mets’ fan. Anyway, it’s a fresh start and a clean slate and a whole lot of possibilities. Here are a few of those as I see them…

NL MVP: David Wright, New York Mets—Am I playing homer? Yes. But this kid works really hard every off-season and consistently puts up big numbers, and he hasn’t even come close to showing his potential. This year Wright is going to show the world why the Mets have built their franchise around him, and he’s going to (finally) lead them to a World Series.

AL MVP: Grady Sizemore, Cleveland Indians—Last year, Sizemore had a full season low batting average of .268 but racked up career highs in home runs (33), RBI (90) and stolen bases (38). Last season Sizemore finished 10th in the AL MVP voting but like Wright, he is on the verge of something huge, and he’s going to lead the Indians to the playoffs.

NL Cy Young: Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants—I love a good short-guy-kicks-ass story, the kind where most scouts write someone off because of their size (5’10, 160 pounds), and then they go and prove everyone wrong except the team who drafted them. That’s Tim Lincecum, who won the NL Cy Young last season for the Giants, winning 18 of his team’s 72 wins, or ONE QUARTER of them. His stuff is absolutely sick, and at times just unhittable and he will coast to his second straight Cy Young.

AL Cy Young: Daisuke Matsuzaka, Boston Red Sox—Last season, Dice-K went 18-3 but was largely overshadowed by Cliff Lee’s 22-3 masterpiece as well as by K-Rod’s record-breaking 62 saves. But this guy has taken over as the dominating shutdown starter in Boston after Josh Beckett battled inconsistency last year, and this year he’s going to roll to the Cy Young.

NL Rookie of the Year: Micah Hoffpauir, Chicago Cubs—Last season, during the second straight historic collapse by the Mets, Hoffpauir was Babe Ruth for one game, going 5 for 5 with two home runs and five RBI. That was his only multi-hit game, but you don’t just have a showing like that by accident.

AL Rookie of the Year: David Price, Tampa Bay Rays—Sure, the Rays optioned their young phenom to the minors recently, but don’t let that fool you. Once Price logs a few innings, he’ll be back in Tampa blowing hitters away the way he did in the ALCS against Boston last season. And he’ll find himself as the #2 or #3 starter before long.

NL Manager of the Year: Jerry Manuel, New York Mets—When Willie Randolph was let go in New York last season, the Mets were 34-35. After Manuel replaced him, the Mets went 55-38 the rest of the way. Okay, they choked again down the stretch, but this year it’s Jerry’s team from the start, and he’s going to show everyone that his no-nonsense and player-friendly approach can win lots of games, as well as championships. It doesn’t hurt that he has two lights-out closers (K-Rod, JJ Putz) anchoring his bullpen now.

AL Manager of the Year: Eric Wedge, Cleveland Indians—The Indians missed the playoffs last season after taking the eventual champion Red Sox to 7 games the year before. The Tribe plays well in odd numbered years as of late—going 93-69 in 2005 and 96-66 in 2007. This season, with the additions of Kerry Wood, Mark DeRosa and Carl Pavano, Cleveland is going to surprise a lot of folks.

NL Comeback Player of the Year: Eric Byrnes, Arizona Diamondbacks—Byrnes was way off his career averages in 2008, hitting a paltry .209 with 6 homers and 23 RBI. He has nowhere to go but up, and this season I have a feeling Byrnes’ numbers are going to match his intensity on the field.

AL Comeback Player of the Year: John Smoltz, Boston Red Sox—After season-ending shoulder surgery in June of 2008, the Braves finally let one of the cornerstones of their franchise go, as the free agent pitcher signed with the Sox. He won’t see the mound until June, but Smoltz threw in the bullpen this week and showed no signs of pain. He’s going to make the Braves sorry—really sorry.

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Offseason Movement: The Cubs were seemingly hosed by the Indians in a trade that sent ultra-utility player Mark DeRosa to Cleveland in exchange for minor league pitching prospects Jeff Stevens, Chris Archer and John Gaub, none of which were viewed as top 10 prospects in the Tribe’s organization. But maybe one of those youngsters will emerge as a quality arm down the road and DeRosa’s contract does expire at the end of the season so at least the Cubs got something for him. Chicago also added volatile outfielder Milton Bradley, reliever Kevin Gregg and pitcher Aaron Heilman, who will move to the bullpen after losing out to Sean Marshall this spring for the Cubs’ fifth spot in the rotation.

Top Prospect: Josh Vitters, 3B
This club is loaded with quality prospects, including reliever Jeff Samardzija, shortstop Ryan Flaherty and outfielder Tyler Colvin. But Vitters appears to be the best of group, with his excellent plate approach, outstanding hand-eye coordination and natural swing. Thus far in Single-A, Vitters is hitting .357 and slugging .529 in 70 at bats. At only 19, he still has a ways to go before he’ll make his big league debut, but Vitters appears to have quite a future ahead of him.

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Offseason Movement: The Indians traded for the do-it-all Mark DeRosa (formerly of the Cubs) and also added pitchers Kerry Wood, Carl Pavano and Matt Herges. Wood will be the closer and although he’s been pounded thus far in spring training, it would appear that Pavano will have a spot in the starting rotation.

Top Prospect: Matt LaPorta, OF/1B
Carlos Santana (not that Carlos Santana) definitely deserves mention here because he absolutely raked minor league pitching last year and has a ton of power potential at the catcher position. But all eyes will be on LaPorta after the Tribe acquired him last summer as part of the deal that sent CC Sabathia to Milwaukee. Some are down on his potential because he struggled in Double-A and the Venezuelan Winter League last year. But LaPorta still remains one of the best prospects in baseball and should be Cleveland’s long-term answer at either first base or in the outfield.

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