RetroSimba

The Cardinals made a bold trade in dealing J.D. Drew and it turned out to be one of their best.

On Dec. 13, 2003, St. Louis sent outfielder J.D. Drew and catcher Eli Marrero to the Braves for pitchers Jason Marquis, Ray King and Adam Wainwright.

“We felt that without pitching we weren’t going to have a chance to improve in the standings next year,” La Russa told the Associated Press when the deal was made.  Story

Said general manager Walt Jocketty: “There were a couple deals we could have done. We just felt this was the best overall for us.”

It was brilliant.

The Cardinals went from 85 wins and a third-place finish in 2003 to 105 wins and a first-place finish in 2004. With Marquis contributing 15 wins as a starter and King appearing in 86 games as a left-handed relief specialist, St. Louis won the pennant in ’04 for the first time in 17 years.

Marquis posted 13 or more wins in each of his three seasons with St. Louis, helping the Cardinals to the postseason each time.

King pitched in 163 games in two seasons for St. Louis.

Wainwright emerged as the Cardinals’ postseason closer in their run to the 2006 World Series championship and then transformed into one of the elite starting pitchers in the National League.

When the deal was made, there was concern the Cardinals were giving up a player with superstar potential. Drew was 28, entering the prime of his career. In six years with St. Louis, he had a .282 batting average, .377 on-base percentage and .498 slugging percentage. But he also had been injury-prone and he was eligible for free agency after the 2004 season.

“For him, it’s just about staying healthy,” La Russa told Sports Illustrated in March 2004. “We saw signs from him that made you say, ‘This kid is unbelievable.’ But teammates ultimately respect guys who go to the post the most. When something keeps happening that prevents you from going out there, they’re not very forgiving.”  Story

Drew never became a superstar (he was named an all-star just once, in 2008), but he played for winning teams at every stop in his big-league career.

While Drew’s major-league totals are solid (.281 batting average, .387 on-base percentage, .499 slugging percentage), he still has the look of an underachiever. Examples:

_ He never has had as many as 160 hits in a season.

_ Only once has he reached triple digits in RBI (100, in 2006).

_ Only once has he hit as many as 30 home runs (31, in 2004).

_ Only once has he scored as many as 100 runs (118, in 2004).

Yet Drew has played for eight teams that reached the playoffs (2000, 2001, 2002 Cardinals; 2004 Braves; 2006 Dodgers; 2007, 2008, 2009 Red Sox). He hit .333 (5-for-15) with 2 doubles and 2 RBI in Boston’s World Series sweep of the Rockies in 2007.

Drew enters 2011 as the projected right fielder in a Boston outfield that includes Carl Crawford in left and Jacoby Ellsbury in center. It will be his fifth season as a Red Sox.