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.

On Sunday, the Padres traded outfielder Scott Hairston to the A’s in exchange for minor league pitchers Ryan Webb and Craig Italiano, in addition to a player to be named later.

MLB FANHOUSE discusses the possibility of the A’s acquiring Hairston as a precursor to a Matt Holliday trade:

For the A’s, they already have Ryan Sweeney and Matt Holliday in the outfield. Hairston gives them the ability to play Sweeney in right field instead of either Travis Buck or Jack Cust. Digging deeper, though, the A’s could easily be preparing to trade Holliday, who is in his walk year, certainly won’t be re-signing in Oakland and would likely be a hot commodity in the trade market. According to a source close to the A’s, Hairston will initially split time in center field with Rajai Davis, but they are looking at him as a corner outfielder in the long term. There’s no real word from Oakland about Holliday specifically, but it certainly looks like a precursor-type move — especially with the news that Hairston will begin in center and eventually shift to a corner.

At this point, it seems inevitable that Oakland will move Holliday. Trade wizard Billy Beane isn’t going to accept just anything in a deal, but he’s going to get something in return for Holliday, especially after giving up multiple pieces to acquire him from Colorado last winter.

The Cardinals, Giants and Reds have all been linked to Holliday, although nobody should ever count out the Yankees making a move.