QUESTION: What do you think of the Cardinals acquisition of Pedro Feliz to play third base?

JOE STRAUSS

The Feliz acquisition underscores the severity of the Cardinals’ plight. They take on salary and ship a promising reliever for a plus defender whom the Astros had buried due to a precipitous drop in offense and the emergence of rookie third baseman Chris Johnson. Feliz compiled decent “counting stats” for several seasons but carries a .289 on-base percentage. Prospect David Carpenter was on the Jason Motte career path, a converted catcher with a power arm. He goes for a seven-week rental that does not offer any significant offensive upgrade. Two things are clear: The Cardinals were exasperated with Felipe Lopez’s defense and uncertain when he might rediscover his offense. And they are clearly scrambling. The loss of David Freese within a week of the Ryan Ludwick trade – in addition to Colby Rasmus’ ongoing calf problems – is crippling this offense. Feliz adds defensive competence but the Cardinals remain exposed as an offense.

DERRICK GOOLD

Fairly uninspiring when you look at the Cardinals’ offensive woes and the chronic need for lineup depth. Sure Feliz gives a needed upgrade on defense, and the Cardinals aren’t in any position to be choosy, but his struggles at the plate this season hardly hint that he’ll impact the Cards dramatically where they crave it most – on offense. This says a lot about what was available and how immediate the Cardinals believed their need was.

RICK HUMMEL

Feliz will catch the ball and deliver occasional extra-base pop. Anything was an upgrade. He doesn’t cost much – he was making $4.5 million this year – and he isn’t signed for next year. Strictly a rental.

JEFF GORDON

Something had to be done. The third base position at Busch Stadium was in a state of emergency. Feliz has been a decent player in the past, so perhaps this move back to a contending team will bring something out of him. The 2010 Astros would suck the life out of almost anybody. The Cards would take the run production Feliz delivered in Philly if he can play steady defense at hot corner. As for the departing David Carpenter, he appeared to be a mid-level pitching prosect. By reloading in the recent draft, the Cards had some flexibility there.

LARRY BOROWSKY (Founder of Viva El Birdos and editor of “Maple Street Press Cardinals Annual”)

It’s a terrible acquisition. Feliz makes the offense a lot worse – he has a career on-base percentage of .289 and grounds into double-plays by the bushel. And at age 35, he’s got nothing left – his .243 on-base percentage is about equivalent to the OBPs of most of the St. Louis pitchers. The Cardinals have struggled all year to sustain rallies; they’ll struggle even more with Feliz making three or four outs every game. No move at all would have been better than this one.