Scott Rolen for Troy Glaus (Update: Finalized!)

[StatmanCrothers]

As great a defender as Rolen is, you NEED offensive production from 3B.

I will do some research to see if my impression of Glaus as an offensive force is anywhere near the reality.

okay, Glaus appears to be an average defensive 3B (a downgrade from Rolen, of course)
and an above average offensive force 120 OPS+ which is not as good as Rolen at his best, but better than Rolen of the last 3 years.

The Rolen of 2005 and 2007 was pitiful at the plate, totally unacceptable for a 3B. 2006 was comparable to Glaus.
Glaus has been productive when he plays. There is no real reason to believe Rolen's shoulder will ever bounce back. He may never have another productive year. a bum shoulder is seems more of a potential career killer, a bum foot is a more probably a nuisance. i hope.

I would rather have somebody that knows when to sit down, and produces when they are out there. i love scott rolen as a player, but i don't think he has the right mind set to handle injury in a professional fashion

[showtime]

Channel 5 says the deal is done on their web site

[InvincibleCakeEater]

Channel 5 says the deal is done on their web site

Doesn't look very official. I'm guessing it's still pending some small details.

[showtime]

It says he has been traded, thats the same thing they said the night Edmonds was delt

[Jmodene]

Gordo has already checked in on the trade:

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports ... enDocument

[cards2468]

I don't know why Rolen would want to go to Toronto. That turf is going to destroy his already brittle back and it sends him even farther away from his roots. I don't understand the point in making a deal for another big contract if we don't plan on being competitive, but if the Cardinals plan on gearing up for a competitive season anytime soon, this might be the safest deal for them, our infield will just never be as spectacular as it once was

[showtime]

He must have really wanted to get away from Tony

[dangerous]

Why are sabr people usually pessimistic?

[Jmodene]

I don't know why Rolen would want to go to Toronto. That turf is going to destroy his already brittle back and it sends him even farther away from his roots. I don't understand the point in making a deal for another big contract if we don't plan on being competitive, but if the Cardinals plan on gearing up for a competitive season anytime soon, this might be the safest deal for them, our infield will just never be as spectacular as it once was

I suspect Rolen will be playing elsewhere in 2009, once he realizes how unhappy he'd be in Toronto on that turf. Eckstein only has a one-year deal there, FWIW.

[Rieges]

<sigh> It's really not like 2006 was that long ago. He put up .296/.369/.518 with a 126 OPS+ over 142 games...that's post-injury, and it's a better year with the bat than all but three that Glaus has ever had.

Toronto is willing to trade Glaus because they know this deal makes their team better.

You're right, 2006 wasn't THAT long ago but the majority of his production was enjoyed pre-All-Star break that year and reportedly, his second-half drop-off was due to left shoulder soreness. Could Rolen have another half a season like he did? It's possible. However, it's probably much more likely that he'll continue to at least have periodic shoulder soreness/problems that will hinder his bat speed and result in prolonged slumps in production as we saw in all but one month of last season. As for why Toronto would be willing to make this deal, it's been reported that it has to do with concerns with how Glaus' plantar facilitis will hold up on the Skydome turf.