Matt Holliday in St. Louis? It might actually happen.

In case you missed it, Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Thursday night that GM John Mozeliak is in conversations with Rockies officials regarding a trade that would bring Holliday, the 2007 N.L. MVP runner-up, to the Gateway City. The rumored multi-player deal would  include sending Ryan Ludwick to Denver.

It may be premature to expect St. Louis to land Holliday; the competition for his services is fierce as the Phillies, A’s, Mets and Rays are reportedly interested (who knows, perhaps the Yankees and Red Sox could jump into the fray). This is not the first time we're heard the Holliday-to-St. Louis rumors. It's evident that "Mo" has a man crush on the two-time All-Star and might be willing to put up the players to close the deal.

The Rockies are looking to deal Holliday, who is a free agent after the 2009 season. If they don’t re-sign him, the club will get nothing more than just a compensatory draft pick in the first-year player draft. Colorado has tried to re-sign him, but to no avail, and rumors are the club will trade him before the winter meetings in Las Vegas next month.

Is trading for Holliday in the best interest for the Cardinals? Here are the pros and cons:   

Pros
* Holliday is a lifetime .319 hitter in 5 seasons, averaging 30 homers, 112 RBI, .938 OPS, 197 hits, 111 runs and 15 stolen bases per season (based on a 162-game average). His production is comparable to David Wright, Jason Bay and Chase Utley, according to baseball-reference.com.

* Holliday offers immediate protection for Albert Pujols, which is something the Cardinals desperately need. No. 4 hitters in the Cardinals lineup combined to hit 34 homers and 113 RBI last season, but it was a revolving door of players as Tony La Russa tried to find a consistent producer there. Holliday will be a steady presence in that spot in the lineup. In 560 at-bats in the No. 4 hole during the past three seasons, Holliday has hit for a .332 average with 28 homers, 96 RBIs and .979 OPS.

* Imagine a lineup featuring Rick Ankiel, Pujols, Holliday and Troy Glaus. That’s a formidable core of run producers. Plus, if Yadi Molina continues his progression as a hitter, if Chris Duncan returns to form as a slugger, and if Colby Rasmus lives up to expectations as a top-of-the-order threat, this could be a helluva lineup.  

* Holliday, who turns 29 on Jan. 15, is in the prime years and could be a centerpiece player with Pujols for many years to come.

* Holliday is a durable player, averaging 151 games played in the past three seasons.

* The two-time All-Star would create some offseason buzz and sell some tickets. Ownership might be motivated to sign him to a multi-year contract with extra revenue coming in the cofers.

* Finally, the 2007 NLCS MVP hit .289 with 5 homers and 10 RBIs during the 2007 playoffs. Holliday was a clutch performer for the Rockies during the club’s improbable playoff run last fall.

Cons
* Holliday is one of baseball’s highest-paid players, earning $13.5 million in 2009. As a free-agent-to-be under the direction of Scott Boras, Holliday will certainly command a long-term deal in the $15 million to $18 million per season range. SI.com reported this week that Holliday recently turned down a 4-year, $68 million contract offer by Colorado. If the Cards are smart, they’ll lock up Holliday before finalizing the trade. But, by signing Holliday, his contract would add to a payroll already loaded with long-term, pricey contracts (Pujols, Carpenter, Kyle Lohse and Wainwright).

* Although it’s true that Holliday’s overall hitting numbers are impressive, it’s worth discussing his performance outside of Coors Field. During the past three years on the road, Holliday was a .296 hitter with a .856 OPS. Conversely, at home, Holliday was a .361 hitter with a 1.099 OPS in the same span. Even more, roughly two-thirds of Holliday’s 95 homers and 339 RBIs came in Denver in those three years.

The rumored Holliday trade will certainly be analyzed from many angles in the coming days by Cardinals Nation. What do you think?

Carpenter Undergoes More Surgery
As if we needed another reason to worry about Chris Carpenter's status for 2009, the righthander underwent surgery on Tuesday to relocate a nerve near his surgically repaired right elbow. With questions remaining about the unrelated mysterious nerve condition that ended Carpenter's brief return to the majors last season, I will continue to argue that the Cardinals need to sign or acquire another starting pitcher. I'll suggest one name: Jon Garland. The two-time 18-game winner, who struggled last season with the Angels, has pitched at least 191 innings in each of the past 7 seasons (including 4 straight seasons of 200+ innings) and has made at least 32 starts in each of the past 8 seasons. A veteran A.L. hurler might benefit from a move to the Senior Circuit under the tutelage of Dave Duncan.

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This week, we highlight Holly’s awkward good-bye from the Scranton branch in this deleted scene from last week’s episode.

Thanks for reading.

Gabriel Kiley is a freelance sports writer based in St. Louis. His e-mail address is WillTheThrill22@gmail.com or post your comments below.