Remember Colby Ramsus?
Ramsus was hailed as the next Jim Edmonds, a franchise center fielder who was to bring championships with his bat at well as glove.
The Cards’ former top prospect was a vital piece in the Cardinals‘ championship year, but not because of what he did for the team, but rather what he was able to bring back in a trade involving him and the Toronto Blue Jays.
While young Colby was impressive in his early stint with the Cardinals, it was clear that he was not going to be around very long when he and then manager Tony La Russa were not seeing eye to eye on Rasmus’ issues.
So what does each team have to show for the trade that went down before last year’s deadline?
Well for one, the Cardinals decided to hold on to lefty reliever Marc Rzepczynski. Although he has not performed as admirably as he did in the postseason, Rzepczynski is only twenty-six years old and has plenty of room to improve.
St. Louis will also receive two first sandwich round compensation draft picks as a result of letting Edwin Jackson and Octavio Dotel go to the Washington Nationals and Detroit Tigers respectively.
Meanwhile, in Toronto, Ramsus is hitting just above the .220 mark with only 13 RBIs and is on pace to break his previous record of 148 strikeouts, a mark he set during the 2010 season.
The Blue Jays aren’t doing too well as a team either.
While their overall team record might be considered a success at this point in the season, once again it looks like the AL East will provide a few playoff teams, and with the Jays sitting at fourth place, they will have the arduous task of overtaking the always-favored New York Yankees, battling their way through the young upstart Tampa Bay Rays, and dethroning the ultra-surprising Baltimore Orioles, who hold the division lead.
How goes it in St. Louis’ center field, you might ask?
Very well actually. John Jay is out batting everyone on the team, getting on base with a .426 OBP and scoring runs.
The Miami native is doing everything asked of him following a great postseason run.
While he might not have the mystique or pedigree of Colby Rasmus, Cardinal fans have accepted Jay into their homes and wouldn’t take back that trade in a million years.
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