"We had a deal," a source said.
The Pirates would have received Dallas Trahern or Jair Jurrjens -- both 21-year-old right-handed pitchers -- and a mid-level position player prospect. That deal apparently collapsed when the Pirates asked for a major-league player, perhaps outfielder Craig Monroe.
If true, I don't know how you don't do that deal. (I also don't know why any sane person would let Monroe hold up a deal, but that's just me.) In the Pirates' defense, that sounds too good to be true.
Jurrjens is the more interesting of the two; Trahern hardly struck anyone out at Class AA. Neither have played much above Class AA, which seems to contradict the P-G's earlier report that the pitcher the Pirates were after could step right into the big-league staff.
The article also reports that Cardinals GM Walt Jocketty could be a CEO candidate, although Jocketty denies this.