(KMOV) -- The Cardinals are facing a potentially sticky situation with Colby Rasmus. Maybe his trade request was made in a moment of anger, or maybe he sincerely wants to get away from Tony La Russa. Whichever, it's pretty clear he and TLR don't seem to mesh very well and something will likely be done about it.
Once a player gets a reputation for wanting to be somewhere else it's pretty difficult, if not impossible, to shake that label. Albert Pujols has weighed in on the issue and made it clear that if Colby doesn't want to be here, he should be accommodated and moved to another team.
This situation has blown up into something that will need to be addressed at some point. I think if La Russa decides to stay for another season Rasmus will likely be traded.
There is a history here of players not getting along with La Russa finding themselves wearing different uniforms (Jim Edmonds, Scott Rolen, Ray Lankford, etc). Rasmus would be attractive trade bait. He's only 24, he figures to be a 30 homerun and 90 rbi guy in the near future, and most importantly he doesn't make much money right now. He'll make $410,000 this year, which is very little considering how productive he is.
Guys like Rasmus, who have a big upside and don't create a strain on a payroll, are golden to many small to mid market teams. I would think the Cardinals could get a very nice return on a Rasmus trade, and it's looking like they may very well have to make such a deal in the upcoming off season. It would probably be the best thing for all parties involved.
