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Cards Shoot Selves in Feet, Trade Rasmus to Toronto

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Earlier today, the Blue Jays acquired starting pitcher Edwin Jackson and expensive bench ornament Mark Teahen from the White Sox in exchange for reliever Jason Frasor and rookie SP Zach Stewart. There was widespread speculation that Jackson would be heading to St. Louis in a follow-up deal, and the other shoe has finally dropped on the second half of the transaction. The Cardinals will receive Jackson, ex-Buc Octavio Dotel, lefty swingman Marc Rzepczynski, and well-traveled outfielder Corey Patterson in exchange for Rasmus and three marginal bullpen arms: Trever Miller, P.J. Walters, and Brian Tallet. John Jay likely becomes St. Louis's starting CF, with Kyle McClellan moving to the pen to make room for Jackson. Jackson is a decent starter, but not a shutdown guy, and he'll be a free agent at the end of the year, whereas Rasmus only has three seasons' worth of service time. This move makes the Cardinals significantly weaker in the long term without providing much (if any) short-term benefit. As such, we owe La Russa a debt of gratitude - without his inability to peacefully co-exist with his young star, our path toward contention in 2012 and beyond would look much tougher than it does today. Edit: Per Toronto's press release on the trade, the Cardinals will also receive "three players to be named later or cash considerations". If any of those players are significant talents, it could alter the balance of the deal somewhat, though that "or cash" might tend to suggest that none are particularly noteworthy if a small payment is potentially a viable alternative.