While a 3-4-5 of Pujols, Ludwick, Holliday might be enough to push the Cardinals back as the front-runners in the NL Central, in the long-term, it may not be such a great deal.
Holliday's agent is Scott Boras, and how often do Boras' rentals actually stick around for the long-term?
Going to Oakland is 3B Brett Wallace, who FanGraphs says...
...is not projected to be a big-time power threat, but rather a 15-20 homer guy who hits for a high average and takes his fair share of walks; somewhat of a Kevin Youkilis before he found his power stroke."
They break it down as such:
Mozeliak is also faced with the fact that after Brett Wallace, his farm system will be a lot thinner, no pun intended. Flags fly forever, and Wallace may never quite pan out and is probably not the greatest fit for his parent club.The Cardinals should be buyers at this point, but I wonder if they can’t get a better return than a rental for their top prospect.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
