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January 14, 2008

Under The Knife

Trading Places, Trading Problems

by Will Carroll

In any trade of two big-name players with individual challenges who play the same position, some will call it a "challenge trade," and others will call it a matter of minimizing problems. The Cardinals, especially manager Tony La Russa, spent much of the offseason feebly trying to stop his feud with Scott Rolen from being a story. He failed. Rolen's fiery nature just wouldn't let it die, and La Russa's choice comments at the Winter Meetings kept Rolen's value dropping. In contrast,, the Blue Jays played it cool and quiet all the way along during the in- and off-season problems of Troy Glaus. However, while out with a foot injury, Glaus was pulled into the steroid scandal when it was leaked that he had purchased steroids through an online clinic. Unlike others in recent scandals, Glaus purchased strong anabolic steroids, including nandrolone (better known as Deca-Durabolin).

However, even more than their off-field issues, both third basemen have significant health problems that have held them back from their former levels of performance. By swapping players and problems, does anyone win this trade from a health standpoint?

The Cardinals would get Troy Glaus back on grass, and that might be the most significant factor in this trade. Glaus' long history of foot and back problems will be helped by a move away from artificial turf, but let's also note that the Jays training staff did a very good job of minimizing the effects of the turf on the slugger. Glaus' recovery from shoulder problems is one of the reasons that the Jays are willing to take a shot on Rolen at all. Glaus suffered similar problems during the latter part of his Angels tenure, some of which may have led him to steroids. Of course, the steroids didn't seem to work, but the shoulder hasn't been a problem in a couple of years, and could be discounted. There's no reason to believe that he'll need to be shifted to first base, something many thought inevitable a few years ago, and isn't an option on the Cardinals, not with Albert Pujols locked in there.

Instead, it's the foot injury that limited Glaus that has to be the foremost concern. If so, the Cards did well. According to sources, Glaus had a nerve problem that was painful but not serious. He had surgery to decompress the nerve causing the pain due to plantar fasciitis. While oversimplifying the procedure, the nerve was moved to keep the inflammation from causing the constant, debilitating pain that had limited Glaus. Remember, the Cards have good experience with managing plantar fasciitis—they've been able to keep Albert Pujols on the field despite the condition, and Pujols has continued to produce due to some advanced techniques and plain old hard work. The combination of the Cardinals' experience with the injury, the move to grass, and the absence of shoulder symptoms over the past few years makes Glaus a very reasonable risk over the term of his deal, which has just one more season on it (plus an option for 2009 that actually reduces his salary from 2008).

Rolen gets the opposite treatment. He moves from grass to turf, but away from the organization that has frustrated him both in the dugout and in the training room. Rolen's opposition to his care has been noted in the press, and his feud with Tony La Russa—stemming from La Russa's calling Rolen on a double standard—was untenable. La Russa noted that Rolen was hurting the team by not disclosing the full nature of his shoulder injury, but wanted the benefit of the doubt on his play once the condition was known. Really, it was Rolen's lack of trust after the initial treatment and surgeries on his shoulder that were the beginning of the end. Rolen's arthritic condition is going to come back, but his most recent procedure shouldn't be dissimilar to the last one in terms of results: he'll be okay for a while, but the time will come when the shoulder will start to tighten up. At that point, Rolen's going to have to take a hard look at a needle full of cortisone and the rest of his life after baseball. The question is if the Jays medical staff, among the best in the business, can control the symptoms and bring back some of Rolen's power that's been lost to the injury. Rolen hasn't rediscovered his power stroke after surgery, and it's something that figures to limit him going forward. Rolen's contract status allows the Jays' recent top third-base pick, Kevin Ahrens, a couple of years to develop before being needed.