The St. Louis Cardinals have acquired 33-year old switch-hitting shortstop Rafael Furcal and $2.5 million bucks from the Dodgers for 24-year old righty swinging outfielder Alex Castellanos. Furcal played in 37 games for the Dodgers this year and he was 27 for 137 (.197 avg, .520 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 1 homer, 12 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. He has now played in 1,434 games in his first 12 years in the majors and he is 1,635 of 5,739 (.283 avg, .756 OPS) with 961 runs scored, 101 homers, 520 RBIs and 298 stolen bases.

Alex Castellanos was not viewed as a top prospect by the Cardinals. That being said, he’s turning in a big time year in AA in 2011. Castellanos has played in 93 games in AA-ball so far this year and he is 113 for 354 (.319 avg, .941 OPS) with 72 runs scored, 19 homers, 62 RBIs and 10 stolen bases.

This was a good deal for the Cardinals. If Furcal can stay healthy, he will give the Cardinals a nice spark at the top of the order due to his speed.

The St. Louis Cardinals have placed 33-year old switch-hitting infielder Nick Punto on the 15-day disabled list due to a strained left oblique. Punto has played in 47 games for the Cardinals so far this year and he is 29 for 107 (.271 avg, .780 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 0 homers, 13 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Punto has been playing through injuries most of this year, so a couple weeks of rest could really help him and get him ready for the stretch run.

The St. Louis Cardinals have dealt 24-year old lefty swinging CF Colby Rasmus, 38-year old lefty reliever Trever Miller, 33-year old lefty reliever Brian Tallet and 26-year old starter/reliever P.J. Walters to the Toronto Blue Jays. The Cardinals have acquired 27-year old righty starting pitcher Edwin Jackson, 37-year old righty reliever Octavio Dotel, 25-year old lefty reliever Marc Rzepczynski, 31-year old lefty swinging outfielder Corey Patterson and either three players to be named later or cash. Edwin Jackson will step right into the Cardinals’ starting rotation. Jackson has pitched in 19 games (all starts) for the White Sox this year and he was 7-7 with a 3.92 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. He has now pitched in 190 games (161 starts) in his first 9 years in the majors and he is 55-58 with a 4.53 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. Pitching coach Dave Duncan will likely work magic with Edwin Jackson who has electric stuff. Octavio Dotel will likely have a nice slot late in games for the Cardinals. Dotel has pitched in 36 games (0 starts) for the Blue Jays this year and he is 2-1 with 1 save, a 3.68 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. He has now pitched in 666 games (34 starts) in his first 13 years in the majors and he is 51-44 with 106 saves, a 3.75 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. Dotel has only given up 689 hits in his first 863 2/3 innings in the majors with 1,045 whiffs, which shows how nasty he has been in his career. Marc Rzepczynski gives the Cardinals a very dependable lefty in the pen. He has pitched in 43 games (0 starts) already this year for the Jays and he is 2-3 with a 2.97 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. He has only allowed 28 hits while whiffing 33 batters in his first 39 1/3 this year as he has adjusted well to relief pitching. He has now pitched in 68 games (23 starts) in his first three years in the majors and he is 8-11 with a 4.00 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. Corey Patterson will likely become the Cardinals’ #4 outfielder. Patterson has played in 89 games for the Jays this year and he was 80 for 317 (.252 avg, .665 OPS) with 44 runs scored, 6 homers, 33 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. He has now played in 1,186 games in his first 12 years in the majors and he is 1,042 for 4,120 (.253 avg, .694 OPS) with 566 runs scored, 118 homers, 428 RBIs and 218 stolen bases.

Colby Rasmus was supposed to be the Golden Child for the St. Louis Cardinals. But, he was constantly butting heads with manager Tony LaRussa and this had to be part of the reason for the deal today. Rasmus played in 94 games for the Cardinals this year and he was 83 for 338 (.246 avg, .753 OPS) with 61 runs scored, 11 homers, 40 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Rasmus played in 385 games in his three years with the Cardinals and he was 330 for 1,276 (.259 avg, .777 OPS) with 218 runs scored, 50 homers, 158 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. The Cardinals may regret dealing Rasmus down the road, if the gets his act together in Toronto. Trever Miller wasn’t pitching that well for the Cardinals this year. Miller pitched in 39 games (0 starts) for the Cardinals this year and he was 0-1 with 1 save, a 4.02 ERA and a 1.85 WHIP. He pitched in 166 games (0 starts) in his three years with the Cardinals and he was 4-3 with 1 save, a 3.12 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. Brian Tallet pitched in 18 games (0 starts) for the Cardinals this year and he was 0-1 with a 8.31 ERA and a 1.92 WHIP. No loss there. P.J. Walters came into this season as the Cardinals’ #19 prospect according to Baseball America. He pitched in 4 games (0 starts) for the Cardinals this year and he was 0-0 with a 9.00 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. Walter pitched in 19 games (4 starts) in parts of three years with the Cardinals and he was 2-0 with a 7.38 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP.

I like how everyone is blasting the Cardinals for this deal. They have improved the pitching staff and the bench for the playoff run.

The Cardinals have released 24-year old lefty reliever Scott Bittle. Injuries have derailed his career to this point. He pitched in 6 games (0 starts) in Rookie+A-ball this year and he is 0-1 with a 8.44 ERA and a 2.44 WHIP. He walked 8 batters in his first 5 1/3 innings in the minors this year. That is Bittle’s only minor league experience to date. Some team will give Bittle another chance but the Cardinals didn’t feel he was worth keeping around.

The Cardinals first need/want at the trade deadline is a starting pitcher to allow them to move Kyle McClellan back to the bullpen. Jeremy Guthrie, Edwin Jackson, Doug Fister, Brett Myers, Aaron Harang, Hiroki Kuroda, Jason Vargas, Wandy Rodriguez and Ted Lilly all make sense. Reports have the Cardinals talking about a big deal with the White Sox centered around Colby Rasmus, Edwin Jackson and lefty reliever Matt Thornton. I will keep you posted. If the Cardinals decide to aim lower for a starting pitcher, Kevin Slowey, Bruce Chen, Jeff Francis, Erik Bedard and Chris Capuano make sense. The Cardinals also could use a lefty reliever with Matt Thornton, Craig Breslow, Arthur Rhodes, Will Ohman, Tim Byrdak, John Grabow and J.P. Howell each making sense. The Cardinals could also be on the hunt for a middle infielder due to Skip Schmaker’s lack of offense. Aaron Hill, Orlando Hudson, Mark Ellis, Mike Aviles, Jason Bartlett and maybe even Rafael Furcal make sense for the Cardinals. They might even consider dealing for Chone Figgins if the Mariners pick up most of the cash he’s owed. The Cardinals are going to be very busy this week.