PITTSBURGH • Publicly insistent that they are not seeking a destination for center fielder Colby Rasmus, the Cardinals have made the struggling 24-year-old talent available for the right deal with the Chicago White Sox, according to several sources familiar with the situation.
With a week remaining before baseball's non-waiver trade deadline July 31, the Cardinals are pressing their push for pitching help. General manager John Mozeliak has encountered frustration in acquiring help without subtracting from the team's major-league roster or from its list of premium prospects, a list that begins with pitchers Shelby Miller and Carlos Martinez.
Negotiations with White Sox general manager Kenny Williams have accelerated in recent days, according to sources, with the Sox able to make available pending free agent pitcher Edwin Jackson or high-salary lefthanded reliever Matt Thornton.
Talks also hinge on what minor-league or cost-controlled talent the White Sox could include in a deal involving Rasmus and, according to a source, a third team may be sought to facilitate a trade.
Mozeliak reiterated Sunday morning his refusal to discuss any specific deal.
The dynamic between Rasmus and the club has further eroded since Mozeliak publicly asserted that he was adamantly opposed to trading the team's 2005 first-round draft pick.
Manager Tony La Russa acknowledged before Saturday's game that he now considers Jon Jay his primary center fielder while Rasmus sorts through a two-month slump. La Russa two weeks ago defended his coaching staff against any charge of being unable to help Rasmus by citing Rasmus' preference for "outside" hitting assistance. Jay's Saturday start against the Pittsburgh Pirates was his fifth in eight games. Rasmus entered Saturday's game as a defensive replacement after pitcher Jaime Garcia was allowed to hit for himself with a runner on base in the top of the eighth inning.
Rasmus started in center field Sunday with Jay stationed in left. Rasmus contributed a second-inning single and a sixth-inning go-ahead homer in a 4-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates and afterward claimed to have felt better at the plate than any time in the previous three weeks.
"I still feel I'm coming to the yard trying to stay positive," he said.
Rasmus said he doesn't plan to concern himself with any trade speculation that may sprout between now and Sunday. He is seeking to simplify rather than further complicate a trying season.
"I've dealt with some of that in the past already. I'm just going to try not to think about it and, wherever I'm at, I'm just playing baseball," Rasmus said. "I'm getting back to keeping it simple. You get too many things going at the same time and it doesn't work. I'm going to keep it simple and play baseball. It's what I did today, I played pretty good, and I'm going to try to keep it going."
The Cardinals are more likely to pursue Jackson than Thornton, who this March signed a two-year extension plus an option for 2014 that guarantees him at least $12 million. Jackson would be owed the pro-rated share of his $8.35 million salary for this season. Jackson's contract status makes it imperative for the Cardinals to receive additional talent in any deal.
Jackson, 27, is 6-7 with a 3.98 ERA in 18 starts for the White Sox this season. He threw more than 200 innings in each of his last two seasons with the White Sox, Cleveland Indians and Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Washington Nationals and Tampa Bay Rays also retain interest in Rasmus. Though Nats general manager Mike Rizzo recently insisted he is not seeking to move shortstop Ian Desmond, rival clubs say Desmond is available for the right price. The Cardinals appear to be taking much the same approach regarding Rasmus.
The Nationals offer potential bullpen help, a sore spot for the Cardinals as La Russa chose not to use either of his lefthanded relievers, Trever Miller and Raul Valdes, during a three-game weekend series against the Pirates.
Mozeliak has long coveted Rays starting pitcher Jeremy Hellickson, and the teams discussed Rasmus' availability last summer. However, the Rays are involved in talks with other clubs regarding their rotation, which also features James Shields and Jeff Niemann. The Cincinnati Reds are believed among those teams with strong interest in Shields.
Various Cardinals officials have taken turns in recent weeks stating that the club is more willing to assume salary than surrender high-end talent. However, achieving that goal depends on potential trade partners accepting second-tier prospects within a seller's market for starting pitching.
