The majority of e-mails and text messages that poured in from general managers and baseball officials Friday could be summed up by this comment from a GM: "The Cardinals emptied their farm system for three months of Mark DeRosa and two months of Matt Holliday."
The price to win this season is high. The Cardinals still owe Cleveland a top pitching prospect (right-hander Jess Todd?) besides righty Chris Perez in the DeRosa deal. St. Louis gave up one of the best young hitters in the game in Brett Wallace, a potential back-of-the-rotation starter in right-hander Clayton Mortensen and an outfielder, Shane Peterson, Oakland compares to Bobby Higginson.
DeRosa
Holliday
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Peter Gammons