Brett Wallace for Matt Holliday

[Kingdom]

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The busy St. Louis Cardinals have added a big bat for their pennant drive.
They acquired three-time All-Star outfielder Matt Holliday from the Oakland Athletics on Friday for a package of prospects.
And Holliday was in the Cardinals' lineup in left field and batting cleanup behind slugger Albert Pujols for Friday night's game against the defending World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies.



"You look at the lineup card and it's exciting," St. Louis outfielder Ryan Ludwick said. "You take a hitter like him and it's instant offense. A player of that caliber, it adds a lot of excitement. We're in first. This will push us to get a lot more."
The A's receive power-hitting third baseman Brett Wallace, a top offensive player in the St. Louis farm system. Outfielder Shane Peterson and right-hander Clayton Mortensen also will go to the Oakland organization.

Oakland Athletics' Matt Holliday gets traded to St. Louis Cardinals - ESPN



Holliday recently got hot, it no doubt helped the A's get a nice package of prospects. Up till then, Holliday was FAR below his typical production. It's a different environment to hit in compared to Coors. Plus, he was on a last place team (certainly not a terrible team though, just zero offense). Holliday was up to .286 with just 11 homeruns. But he's still capable of big numbers and will get the opportunity hitting behind Pujols. What this really does it take pressure a lot of Ludwick and Rasmus, two guys who have recently started to hit really well, and maybe giving St. Louis a respectable middle of the order past Pujols. The cards have kinda surprised me with everything they've pulled off, and it's good to see a team step up and try to go for it. They had already acquired Mark DeRosa, absolutely perfect for that clubhouse, and the other day picked up Julio Lugo (although he's not much of player these days).

Oakland gets a top tier prospect in Brett Wallace, they would not have gotten him if Holliday hadn't shown the ability to crank it up recently. Great to see Oakland get a big name for the farm system, as well as a couple of other pieces. So are the A's done, anyone else Beane might dump? And does this deal encourage other contenders to pull off something to counter the acquisition of Holliday?

[NYgiantsfan5689]

This is a great trade for both teams, I totally agree KoZ. The A's did a great job getting top value possible for a hitter who has been below expectations all season and has a heck of a contract. The Cardinals got a proven NL bat who can drastically improve that lineup for the fight for their division. Great job by both GM's.

[realmofotalk]

Regardless of how Holliday fares with St. Louis, the A's turned Huston Street, Carlos Gonzalez, and Greg Smith into better prospects.

[Providence A's]

yeah, as good as Street has been for Colorado, Bailey has filled in perfectly fine...and he's cost controlled for 6 years. Gonzalez has been a tease; all tools and no results. Smith has been shitty in AAA.

The Cardinals are better now with Holliday and if Wallace has to move to 1B/DH, then he was of no other use to them. The A's get their top spec (top 10 overall according to some), an OF spec that some say will be a 4th OF that can play 1B or is the hidden gem in the deal, and a pitcher that could be a 4th/5th starter or move to the pen.

It's a good deal for both teams, but it could be much better for the A's depending on Wallace. 6 controlled years of Wallace is very valuable.