After acquiring outfield Matt Holliday from the Colorado Rockies during the off season, the Oakland A’s shipped the free agent to be to the St. Louis Cardinals for three minor leaguers, including third base prospect Brett Wallace.
Wallace, the former Arizona State Sun Devil, was drafted 13th overall by St. Louis in 2008. The two other prospects the A’s received were pitcher Clayton Mortenson and outfielder Shane Peterson.
Holliday got off to a slow start, hitting only .240 in April, but has raised his average to .286 on the season and is hitting .338 in July with three home runs and 14 RBI’s.
Keith Law of ESPN.com believes the deal is a win-win for both teams, noting that the package the A’s received is greater than what they gave up to Colorado in the offseason. (Huston Street, Carlos Gonzalez, and Greg Smith.)
In exchange, Oakland gets a strong package of prospects, headlined by third baseman Brett Wallace, the 19th-best prospect in the minors coming into this season and a top-10 prospect in the minors right now. Wallace is a left-handed hitter with a tremendous approach, above-average power, and — unlike a lot of left-handed-hitting prospects — has no trouble hitting left-handed pitching.
A Blog About Everything Sports 