Bernie Miklasz, the fine columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, has a message board with the newspaper called Bernie’s Pressbox. Miklasz dropped by Saturday night to provide an update on all sorts of Cardinals trade rumors. Here’s a quick summary.
Starting pitchers on the radar: Jon Lieber, Kip Wells, and Dontrelle Willis.
Relievers: Rheal Cormier, Mike Gonzalez, Salomon Torres.
Outfielders: Shawn Green, Jeff Conine.
Infielders: Mark Loretta, Ron Belliard.
Pirates GM Dave Littlefield has gotten a lot of criticism for his asking prices and unwillingness to trade certain players. I think he could redeem himself by dealing Mike Gonzalez. Gonzalez is 28, left-handed, and has posted an ERA under 3 since 2004 despite a walk problem for the last two years. He’s not getting any more valuable than he is now, and he probably won’t be effective by the time the Pirates are competitive again. Sell high, Dave. No one wants Jeromy Burnitz.
