Yesterday, after weeks of rumors, the Cardinals dealt 1B-L Tino Martinez to Tampa Bay for RHP Evan Rust and a player to be named later. Under the terms of the trade, St. Louis will reportedly pay $7M of the $7.5M Martinez is owed in 2004. However, the Devil Rays will be responsible for paying the $1M buyout on Martinez's $8M 2005 option if they don't unexpectedly decide to retain him at that inflated price.

While Tino Martinez's performance in St. Louis was viewed as a disappointment, he really didn't provide much less production than he did in New York. He was trending towards hitting more groundballs even before leaving the Yankees and that combined with the move to the less offense-oriented National League brought down his power numbers. His counting numbers decreased due to the difference in lineups. However, he still possesses solid walk and contact rates.

Tropicana Field is slightly friendlier than Busch Stadium to left-handed hitters and moving back to the American League should also provide a small boost to his averages. A higher slot in the lineup should counteract the negative affects of moving from the St. Louis offense to Tampa's. Consequently, I believe the Devil Rays can expect decent production from the 35-year-old.

Martinez is pleased with the move to Tampa, where he was born, grew up, played high school and college ball, and where he still lives. He also has an existing relationship with Tampa Bay Manager Lou Piniella, who he played under in Seattle from 1993-95.

I would have picked up 1B-L Travis Lee's $2.5M option while keeping Rust and the PTBNL instead of the extra million. Lee's better defense would have been helpful to the young pitchers on the Devil Rays' staff, and I almost always prefer to go with the younger player. However, I don't believe Tampa made a horrible trade. Martinez reportedly has solid defense, his production at the plate should be comparable to Lee's, and the Devil Rays preferred Martinez's history with the community and veteran leadership skills to the benefits of Lee's youth.

Tampa signed Rust as a non-drafted free agent out of St. Mary's University in 2000. He worked as a starter for a portion of 2001 while at A Charleston in the South Atlantic League, however Rust has pitched in relief for the majority of his minor league career. The 25-year-old split 2003 between AA Orlando in the Southern League and AAA Durham in the International League, where he compiled a 26:10 K:BB with 32 H and 1 HR allowed in 36 IP for a 3.25 ERA over 26 appearances.

He's expected to compete for a bullpen job with the Cardinals in Spring Training, where his performance will likely dictate whether he breaks camp with the team, as St. Louis has placed value on spring stats in the recent past. Given his AA walk rate and the drop in his strikeout rate after the move to AAA, I would prefer to see him spend a couple more months at AAA before predicting how he'll perform in the majors.

St. Louis didn't pick up a mountain of talent in this deal, but for the $1.5M they saved by trading Martinez, they should be able to sign a replacement and moving him allows them more flexibility in building their 2004 lineup. The Cardinals may choose to sign an outfielder while moving Albert Pujols to first base, and Shannon Stewart seems to best fit the parameters laid out in comments made by GM Walt Jocketty and Manager Tony LaRussa.

The Cardinals have been actively signing players to minor league deals. Right-handers Allen Levrault, Spike Lundberg, and Chad Paronto as well as lefties Randy Flores and Diegomar Markwell are among the pitchers who've signed minor league contracts with St. Louis.

Levrault split 2003 between Florida and their AAA affiliate at Albuquerque. The 25-year-old's control problems have prevented him from holding a job in the majors, but his past major league time will earn him an opportunity to compete for a bullpen job in Spring Training.

Texas drafted Lundberg out of San Diego Mesa Junior College with a 26th round pick in the 1997 draft, and he's now leaving the organization for the first time as a minor league free agent. He's split the last three years between AA and AAA, though he only spent a few innings at AAA in 2003. The 26-year-old hasn't dominated as a starter, but he did quite well in relief at AAA this year, so I'd like to see the Cardinals plug him into their AAA bullpen. If he does well at Memphis, he could contribute innings to the major league pen if injury or ineffectiveness create an opening.

Paronto received an April call-up with the Indians this year, but his ERA cost him his major league job and his 40-man roster spot. The 28-year-old performed effectively but not impressively at AAA Buffalo after his demotion. I expect him to attend the Cardinals' major league camp in the spring since he's had past major league experience, but unless he catches someone's eye with good numbers in the minors, he'll probably spend the majority of the year at AAA Memphis.

Flores spent 2003 at AAA Colorado Springs in the Pacific Coast League, where he compiled a 116:67 K:BB with 156 H and 16 HR allowed in 142.2 IP for a 4.98 ERA over 28 appearances, including 24 starts. Unless the Cardinals sign a couple of lefties to major league deals, Flores should compete for a bullpen job in Spring Training. The 28-year-old should be a useful reliever, though his walk rate limits his effectiveness as a starter. If he doesn't break camp with the team, he'll provide them with solid depth at AAA.

Markwell signed with the Blue Jays as a non-drafted free agent out of the Netherlands Antilles in 1996. He's now leaving the organization for the first time as a minor league free agent. However, outside of the lyrical sound of his name, I'm not certain what enticed the Cardinals into signing him. Markwell compiled a 69:54 K:BB with 146 H and 20 HR allowed in 110 IP for a 7.04 ERA over 28 appearances, including 19 starts at AA New Haven in the Eastern League this year. I can only surmise that they will try moving him to relief full time in the hopes of turning the 23-year-old southpaw into inexpensive bullpen fodder.