RetroSimba

Unable to resolve his differences with manager Tony La Russa, third baseman Scott Rolen requested to be traded by the Cardinals.

On Jan. 14, 2008, Rolen got his wish when the Cardinals sent him to the Blue Jays for third baseman Troy Glaus.

The deal brought an unsatisfying end to the Cardinals career of a productive, popular player.

It also continued a shakeup of the Cardinals by first-year general manager John Mozeliak. After the 2007 season, when Mozeliak replaced Walt Jocketty, the Cardinals traded Rolen and center fielder Jim Edmonds, and shortstop David Eckstein was allowed to leave as a free agent. All three had been prominent contributors to the Cardinals’ 2006 World Series championship team. Like Rolen, Eckstein went to the Blue Jays.

Cardinals core

Rolen came to the major leagues with the Phillies and was named winner of the National League Rookie of the Year Award in 1997. Rolen hit with power and fielded superbly, but he eventually clashed with manager Larry Bowa and the Phillies looked to deal him.

In July 2002, the Philies traded Rolen and pitcher Doug Nickle to the Cardinals for infielder Placido Polanco and pitchers Bud Smith and Mike Timlin.

Rolen, Edmonds and Albert Pujols formed the core of a lineup that powered the Cardinals to four division titles (2002, 2004, 2005, 2006), two NL pennants (2004 and 2006) and a World Series championship (2006).

In 2004, his best Cardinals season, Rolen produced a .314 batting average, a .409 on-base percentage and a .598 slugging percentage. He had 34 home runs, 124 RBI and scored 109 runs.

Rolen also earned a Gold Glove Award four times while with the Cardinals.

Looking to leave

An injury to his left shoulder limited Rolen to 56 games in 2005. That’s when his troubles with La Russa surfaced. Rolen believed the Cardinals misled him about the severity of the injury, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. La Russa objected to Rolen’s claim and an iciness developed between the two.

In 2006, the rift widened when La Russa benched Rolen during the NL Division Series. The two attempted a reconciliation in 2007, but the relationship suffered a setback when La Russa sent Rolen a four-page letter after the season, expressing his opinions of the player.

When La Russa signed a contract in October 2007 to remain Cardinals manager through 2009, Rolen contacted the club and requested a trade.

Though Rolen was an accomplished player, dealing him created a challenge for Mozeliak. Potential trade partners were limited because Rolen had $36 million and three years remaining on his contract and he had undergone three shoulder surgeries since 2005. Also, because it was no secret Rolen wanted out of St. Louis, Mozeliak’s negotiating options appeared restricted and clubs weren’t inclined to offer much in return.

Rolen has “to understand what our return must be to even consider moving someone of Scott’s talent,” Mozeliak said.

Trade talk

At the December 2007 baseball winter meetings in Nashville, the Brewers showed the most interest in trading for Rolen and met multiple times with the Cardinals, who wanted pitcher Chris Capuano. The Cardinals ended negotiations when the Brewers wouldn’t come up with an acceptable offer.

Meanwhile, La Russa told reporters Rolen should give back to the Cardinals rather than ask the club to accommodate him. The comments deepened the animosity between the two.

The public seemed fed up with the drama. In a Post-Dispatch poll asking whose side are you on, 36 percent responded in favor of La Russa, 11 percent were for Rolen and 53 percent chose no side, saying the hostilities were unbecoming and unnecessary.

Before the winter meetings ended, the Blue Jays quietly approached the Cardinals and expressed interest in Rolen. Glaus, the Blue Jays’ third baseman, underwent foot surgery in September and told the club he no longer wanted to play on the artificial surface in the Toronto stadium. The Blue Jays asked the Cardinals if they’d swap Rolen for Glaus.

The Cardinals were interested in the proposal but wanted Glaus to exercise his contract option for 2009, eliminating the possibility he could depart St. Louis after the 2008 season. Glaus agreed to the arrangement.

The Cardinals eliminated another potential obstacle to the deal when Glaus checked out clean regarding drug use. In 2007, a published report said banned performance-enhancing drugs had been delivered to Glaus at home in 2003 and 2004. Major League Baseball investigated and found insufficient evidence.

Happy slugger

Glaus five times hit 30 home runs in a season and he achieved 100 RBI four times. In 2002, he was named recipient of the World Series Most Valuable Player Award with the Angels. Glaus batted .262 with 20 home runs and 62 RBI in 115 games for the 2007 Blue Jays.

“He has off-the-chart power,” said Mozeliak.

After Blue Jays doctors checked out Rolen, 32, and Cardinals doctors did the same with Glaus, 31, and gave their approvals, the trade was completed.

“St. Louis is a city that I’ve dreamed about playing in since I was a kid (in Southern California),” Glaus said.

Said Mozeliak: “When you look at them player by player, at the end of the day what breaks the tie is a happy player versus an unhappy player.”

When Joe Strauss of the Post-Dispatch visited Rolen at Blue Jays spring training camp in Dunedin, Fla., Rolen said of the trade, “It came to a point where it had to happen.”

Regarding his dispute with La Russa, Rolen said, “A personal issue … There was nothing professional about it.”

Glaus did well for the 2008 Cardinals, batting .270 with 27 home runs and 99 RBI in 151 games. He was injured in 2009 and limited to 14 games near the end of the season.

Rolen batted .262 with 11 home runs and 50 RBI for the 2008 Blue Jays. In July 2009, the Blue Jays traded him to the Reds and he finished his playing career with them in 2012.

Previously: Scott Rolen and his strange stat line in 2004 NLDS