The St. Louis Cardinals dealt centerfielder Colby Rasmus to the Toronto Blue Jays in an eight-player deal on Wednesday.
Rasmus spoke outside the Cardinals clubhouse to FOX Sports Midwest on Wednesday afternoon.
Update: Tony Rasmus spoke with the Toronto Sun: “Rasmus’ dad blasts Tony La Russa”
Tony La Russa recaps the trade in a discussion with Mike Shannon.
Link to my summary of the trade at The Cardinal Nation.
Many others are weighing in, including a number of national commentators. Here is a sampling of their comments.
Keith Law, ESPN: “…The Cardinals, meanwhile, have made a terrible organizational move by allowing their aging manager to run off the best hitting prospect the team has produced since drafting Albert Pujols….”
Jim Bowden, ESPN: “…This deal will come back to haunt them and sooner than they think. The Cardinals better win this year, or they will really regret this one. Worst trade of the year, sorry Cardinals fans.”
Eric Karabell, ESPN: “It had become clear that the St. Louis Cardinals organization simply didn’t want outfielder Colby Rasmus around anymore, and thus the team sent him packing Wednesday in an odd move that I think we’ll all remember years from now. Dump Rasmus? Well, the Cardinals kind of did just that, and kudos to the Toronto Blue Jays nabbing him…”
Ben Watanabe, NESN: “…a smart baseball man once told me to judge the winner of a trade by which team gets the most talented player in the deal. Rasmus is undeniably the most talented player involved in this deal, and Toronto got him at a very cheap price.”
Matthew Pouliot, NBC Sports Hardball Talk: “I just can’t believe that the Cardinals, even if they felt that they had to move him, couldn’t get more for Rasmus. A legitimate No. 2 starter or an All-Star-caliber middle infielder. They gave up a terrific long-term property without getting a real difference-maker in return.”
Aaron Gleeman, NBC Sports Hardball Talk: “…Maybe time will show that Rasmus feuding with La Russa was a sign of much bigger future issues to come, but from a pure talent-for-talent standpoint this deal is a clear win for Toronto.”
Stan McNeal, Sporting News: “The No. 1 message to take away from the Colby Rasmus trade: The St. Louis Cardinals are going for it now. They need pitching, and they are getting three pitchers who will improve a rotation and bullpen that have been suspect in recent weeks…”
Danny Knobler, CBS Sports: “The stat guys will wonder how the Cardinals could ever trade Colby Rasmus, who is 24 years old and ranked just behind Carl Crawford, Andre Ethier and Ryan Braun in OPS+ last year. I’m wondering if the Cardinals just made the move that puts them in position to win the National League Central…”
Jeff Passan, Yahoo Sports (via Twitter): “A 24-year-old CF who OPS+’d 133 last year just got traded for a FA-pitcher-to-be, a decent RH reliever and a LOOGY. Am I missing something? The hardest part to swallow for Cardinals fans: The impetus behind the Colby Rasmus trade, Tony La Russa, may not even be back next season. Cheer up, St. Louis. At least the Cardinals didn’t include Shelby Miller, Carlos Martinez or Oscar Taveras as a throw-in.”
Peter Gammons, MLB Network (via Twitter): “Maybe Edwin Jackson becomes better than .500 but old adage: when managers make trades, general managers often trade jobs.”
More links and commentary may be added later.
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