Rotoworld reports: The Padres have acquired Jim Edmonds from the Cardinals for David Freese, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Edmonds made it clear earlier this offseason that San Diego was a preferred destination for him if he was going to waive his no-trade clause. It's a very good gamble for the Padres, especially since the Cardinals are going to be kicking in at least $1 million to help cover his $8 million salary. They should still have the funds to sign Geoff Jenkins if he decides he wants to play in San Diego. In Freese, the Cardinals get a pretty good third base prospect, though he won't be ready to step in next year if Scott Rolen is dealt. He was expendable because the Padres had both Kevin Kouzmanoff and Chase Headley ahead of him. Dec. 14 - 11:45 pm et
Source: San Diego Union-Tribune
Is it Colby time in St Louis?
Well I was gonna blog about this or I figured JP would, but you beat us to the punch Jim. I am beyond pissed off at this deal. The whole reason the Cards signed Edmonds to a 2 year extension in 06 was to ensure that he would retire a Cardinal. When I think of the Cardinals turnaround starting in 2000, I attribute it to Edmonds and Darryl Kile. Bringing those 2 in changed the whole atmosphere. Edmonds should've retired a Cardinal, we should've had a Jim Edmonds Day in September where he got a Cardinal red Corvette and been given a huge sendoff. Now he's a Padre. For the record, if this happened at the deadline, it wouldn't have bothered me so much, if they used the "we wanted to send Jimmy out with a shot at a championship" reasoning.
The fact is the Cardinals just gave away the best center fielder of the decade and a guy that should be in the Hall of Fame someday. And what was the return? A kid from St. Louis(big f'n deal) that'll be 25 by the end of April and hasn't played above A ball. Maybe he's a September callup at some point. That's it. This reminds me of the Tino Martinez deal but for all the wrong reasons. When the Cards dealt Tino, they paid his whole salary almost and got a minor league reliever in return. But that was a case of addition by subtraction. All you're subtracting here is talent. I want to see Rasmus in CF as much as the next Cards fan, but I wanted him to have at least half a year in Memphis first.
Which brings me to the culprit behind this, new GM John Mozelak(I know its spelled wrong). He got the job by default. Ownership insisted that Luthlow, the guy that has turned the farm system around, be kept on by whoever was hired. That scared off everyone because they weren't allowed to run their own ship, including Antonelli from Cleveland, who everyone wanted. Let's take a look at what Moz has done since he took over. He paid Joel Piniero 8 million a year for 3 years based on maybe a dozen starts. He let the starting SS leave and the top utility man leave. Had he let Eckstein leave and said "Hey, Brendan Ryan is our SS next year, that's why we let Eck go" I don't think anyone would've had a problem. Ryan's a hard nosed ballplayer that put up good numbers last year and is versatile. Instead, Moz goes out and signs one of the 5 worst hitters in baseball to be the SS next year. Aaron Miles isn't a great ballplayer, but why let him walk when he might make 2 million in arbitration? And now Edmonds is gone and that frees up 7 million. And with that 7 million, I'd almost bet that Moz will spend it on Josh Fogg or a similar player. A shitty SP. Not say, a Mark Prior that Dave Duncan could work wonders with. Nah, let's get someone that sucks. And that is why the Cardinals will finish 4th next year and won't contend as long as Moz leads the team
The fact is the Cardinals just gave away the best center fielder of the decade and a guy that should be in the Hall of Fame someday. And what was the return? A kid from St. Louis(big f'n deal) that'll be 25 by the end of April and hasn't played above A ball. Maybe he's a September callup at some point. That's it. This reminds me of the Tino Martinez deal but for all the wrong reasons. When the Cards dealt Tino, they paid his whole salary almost and got a minor league reliever in return. But that was a case of addition by subtraction. All you're subtracting here is talent. I want to see Rasmus in CF as much as the next Cards fan, but I wanted him to have at least half a year in Memphis first.
Which brings me to the culprit behind this, new GM John Mozelak(I know its spelled wrong). He got the job by default. Ownership insisted that Luthlow, the guy that has turned the farm system around, be kept on by whoever was hired. That scared off everyone because they weren't allowed to run their own ship, including Antonelli from Cleveland, who everyone wanted. Let's take a look at what Moz has done since he took over. He paid Joel Piniero 8 million a year for 3 years based on maybe a dozen starts. He let the starting SS leave and the top utility man leave. Had he let Eckstein leave and said "Hey, Brendan Ryan is our SS next year, that's why we let Eck go" I don't think anyone would've had a problem. Ryan's a hard nosed ballplayer that put up good numbers last year and is versatile. Instead, Moz goes out and signs one of the 5 worst hitters in baseball to be the SS next year. Aaron Miles isn't a great ballplayer, but why let him walk when he might make 2 million in arbitration? And now Edmonds is gone and that frees up 7 million. And with that 7 million, I'd almost bet that Moz will spend it on Josh Fogg or a similar player. A shitty SP. Not say, a Mark Prior that Dave Duncan could work wonders with. Nah, let's get someone that sucks. And that is why the Cardinals will finish 4th next year and won't contend as long as Moz leads the team
Aaron, I think every fan has that moment where they see the guy they thought would retire with their team go somewhere else, often under fucked up circumstances. I'm sure everyone has their moment, for me it was seeing Jerry Rice in a Raider jersey. If you are honestly still surprised when something like this happens, then congratulations, I think you've popped your cherry on sports fan innocence.
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I agree that it would have nice to have Edmonds retire as a Cardinal ... but apparently even Edmonds didn't see that way. According to the Psot Dispatch Edmonds himself put this transaction in place:Cardinals wrote:Well I was gonna blog about this or I figured JP would, but you beat us to the punch Jim. I am beyond pissed off at this deal. The whole reason the Cards signed Edmonds to a 2 year extension in 06 was to ensure that he would retire a Cardinal.
The move, hinted at earlier this month when sources confirmed that Edmonds had agreed to relinquish his no-trade leverage if dealt to a Southern California team, suggests the Cardinals have accelerated their move to greater payroll flexibility.
The writer does agree with Aaron's assessment of Freese:
The Cardinals' willingness to eat a portion of Edmonds' contract while receiving a player unlikely to impact next season's major-league roster suggests the franchise's shift from a renovation to reconstruction.
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports ... enDocument
"The franchise's shift from renovation to reconstruction ... now there's a heck of a way to phrase it!
Ah, good to see David Freese get out from behind Chase Headley and Kouzmanoff there in San Deigo.
After getting rated the best defensive 3b in the Cal League, the Padres were trying him at catcher in order to open his path to the majors. Looks like he'll now become the heir apparent at 3b after the Cards get rid of Rolen.
Ha! I could have written that......
http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/ma ... 65347.html
After getting rated the best defensive 3b in the Cal League, the Padres were trying him at catcher in order to open his path to the majors. Looks like he'll now become the heir apparent at 3b after the Cards get rid of Rolen.
Ha! I could have written that......
http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/ma ... 65347.html
