Corey Noles, staff writer for The Daily Statesman and Editor of The North Stoddard Countian, is the author of a regular baseball/St. Louis Cardinals column and also uses his blog to sound off on various happenings in sports. He also operates a weekly baseball mailbag column.

QUICK HIT: Is Freese to LAA rumor part of shortstop hunt?

Posted Thursday, November 21, 2013, at 10:10 AM

By COREY NOLES It was reported on Twitter earlier this morning by Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports that the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Angels have discussed a potential trade for third baseman David Freese.

Sources: #STLCards, #Angels have discussed a trade that would send 3B David Freese to Anaheim.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 21, 2013

While the possibility of moving David Freese is not a surprise, what the Cardinals would expect in return could be interesting. For anything of value, it's likely Freese isn't the only piece of the puzzle. If this is tied to the Cardinals hunt for a shortstop, the obvious target would be longtime Angels shortstop Erick Aybar. Aybar is a career .277/.317/.386 hitter who batted .271 in 2013 with six home runs, 54 RBI and 12 SB. He's currently signed through 2016 with a contract that will pay him $25.5 million over three seasons. If Aybar is what the Cardinals are seeking, he might not be a bad fit. Of course, at this point it's all still speculation. -- Corey Noles is a Cardinals Writer and Columnist for The Daily Statesman. He is also a regular contributor to KSDK.com and Bleacher Report. Contact him at cnoles@dailystatesman.com or on Twitter @coreynoles.

Comments

View 21 comments

Note: The nature of the Internet makes it impractical for our staff to review every comment. Please note that those who post comments on dexterstatesman.com may do so using a screen name, which may or may not reflect a website user's actual name. Readers should be careful not to assign comments to real people who may have names similar to screen names. Refrain from obscenity in your comments, and to keep discussions civil, don't say anything in a way your grandmother would be ashamed to read.

Anaheim might be trying to throw back Pujols.... LOL

-- Posted by Haterade on Thu, Nov 21, 2013, at 10:13 AM
This is at least the third or fourth rumor I have heard about Freese getting shipped out for a SS or a CF. It needs to just happen already.

-- Posted by Bunk on Thu, Nov 21, 2013, at 10:23 AM
I am with ya Bunk.. now not holding into account what you have to give up would you rather have Profar, or Aybar?

-- Posted by Radar99 on Thu, Nov 21, 2013, at 11:23 AM
Well Profar isn't happening now that Kinsler has been traded.

-- Posted by Bunk on Thu, Nov 21, 2013, at 11:32 AM
True. Didn't think of that.

-- Posted by Radar99 on Thu, Nov 21, 2013, at 12:26 PM
Lets get Bourjos the backup CF. He is stuck behind trout.

-- Posted by Kidrayray on Thu, Nov 21, 2013, at 1:26 PM
We have plenty of OF's with Holliday, Jay, Tavaras and Robinson. We also have Allen Craig in OF if we put Adams at 1B...

I would only see one way of us getting Profar ore Andrus!

Scenerio is that Rangers still have HIGH interest in Cano! So, if we take Andrus(full salary) along with one of their high end salary players and eat all their contract there's still a shot. If we want Profar it is a longer shot... He would be a stud prospect and whoever else for Profar and HIGH END SALARY GUY.

I DON'T want to see Drew at SS for the Cardinals

-- Posted by Haterade on Thu, Nov 21, 2013, at 1:50 PM
I think Aybar or Jed Lowrie in Oakland is probably the route the cards go instead of the big name guy.

-- Posted by Bunk on Thu, Nov 21, 2013, at 2:50 PM
Bunk just read a tweet from Ken Rosenthal that the Rangers are still willing to deal Profar, or Andrus.

-- Posted by Radar99 on Thu, Nov 21, 2013, at 3:29 PM
Well they must be serious about cano then. That's fine by me but I wouldn't give up much. They are now behind the eightball when it comes to playing time and luxury tax when it comes to courting Cano. If they wanna move someone they need to reduce the prospect price to get Andrus salary or Profar out of Arrlington

-- Posted by Bunk on Thu, Nov 21, 2013, at 3:35 PM
Bourjos for Freese would be a great trade for the Cardinals. The Cardinals need a CF, they need speed and they need defense in the outfield. His salary is very very cheap. That allows Carp to move to third and Wong to play second. You get a good SS and they cards are loaded yet again.

-- Posted by Steve Frey on Thu, Nov 21, 2013, at 4:22 PM
I doubt either Profar or Andrus would happen now. Also, I dont think Bourjos would be a good upgrade at center. I wouldnt mind getting Aybar. But not crazy about his contract. I wouldnt give up too much to get him though. I still think Cards best bet is in free agency.

-- Posted by SportsMediaInformant on Fri, Nov 22, 2013, at 8:28 AM
Aybar's contract is pretty swell considering the high quality of defense. If the Cards can get Brett Gardner or Peter Bourjios to play CF ship Adams for a SS, put Craig at 1B, and Taveras in RF. That is the best lineup we can get defensively at least.

-- Posted by Bunk on Fri, Nov 22, 2013, at 9:26 AM
The only thing we could possibly get for Freese might be a few balls and a bat. However, anything we could get in return would be a plus

-- Posted by BLARNEY CARNEY on Fri, Nov 22, 2013, at 12:54 PM
Steve Frey called it

-- Posted by Radar99 on Fri, Nov 22, 2013, at 2:36 PM
Looks like we got Bourjos...

http://tracking.si.com/2013/11/22/cardinals-trade-david-freeze-angels-peter-bour...

Now can we get the piece we REALLY NEED???

I want a OFFENSIVE SS!!!!!

-- Posted by Haterade on Fri, Nov 22, 2013, at 2:44 PM
It's a low risk trade for the Cardinals hopefully it helps.

-- Posted by SportsMediaInformant on Fri, Nov 22, 2013, at 5:08 PM
A shortstop will be next. They are deciding on if they want to move Matt Adams or possibly even Oscar Tavares. I may be impossible to keep them both and give them playing time.

-- Posted by Steve Frey on Fri, Nov 22, 2013, at 8:37 PM
The Cardinals are close to signing Johnny Peralta ESPN.com reports.

-- Posted by SportsMediaInformant on Sat, Nov 23, 2013, at 7:45 PM
Great to see the Cardinals invest in a veteran player like Peralta. They sure do this more often.

-- Posted by Dustin Ward on Mon, Nov 25, 2013, at 1:35 AM
It's an ok move and probably the best of a bunch of tough options. Now we have great lineup flexibility with the option to slowly work Oscar in if need be. Only hard thing about this is that Wong needs to perform immediately for this lineup to function like we want

-- Posted by Bunk on Mon, Nov 25, 2013, at 6:43 AM

Respond to this blog

Posting a comment requires free registration:

If you already have an account, follow this link to login
Otherwise, follow this link to register