The Cardinals have traded frustrating righthander Chris Perez to the Indians for the man of a thousand positions, Mark DeRosa.

Well, Rockin' the Red has finally gotten its wish, although it doesn't quite feel like Christmas morning. If it were Christmas morning in Cardinal Nation, Mark DeRosa would come bearing a pumpkin pie while we told P.J. Walters to scram. No, instead we tell one of our most promising, albeit flawed, relievers to leave the dinner table.

The trade will definitely provide a boost to the infield numbers, and I'd champion trading for DeRosa over Matt Holliday any day of the week. I'm just unsure about trading away a guy that would provide cost-controlled, high-strikeout numbers and potentially fill the closer position for a rental. A good, valuable rental. But still a rental.

The trade implies several things. For one, it means the Cards aren't confident that Perez would have been able to provide substantially better numbers than a replacement player. Essentially, the trade weighs the value of Perez over his replacement verses the value of DeRosa over Thurston/Barden/Greene this year. Ideally, the balance would include future potential in it's weighing, but it seems a little questionable in this case. It's obviously a win-now move.

The trade also implies that the closer situation is steadier than thought. It means that the Cardinals are comfortable with Ryan Franklin this year, and comfortable with securing a reliable closer in the future. If they thought Chris Perez truly had dynamite closer stuff, the move probably would not have been made for DeRosa.

I could also imply that the move factors in Tony La Russa into the equation. Win-now is definitely in his best interest, and the move might also attest to a commitment to winning that has been questioned before. Trade for DeRosa, show that the team is serious about contending, and keep Tony in the mix for a few more years. It probably has crossed the minds of some front office personnel.

DeRosa's numbers will look pretty good in the Cardinals' lineup. Albert Pujols gets another man on base in front of him, Tony gets a guy who can play solid infield and outfield defense, and the lineup looks a little more complete than before.

Perhaps DeRosa can give a Will Clark-esque boost to the lineup. After Todd Wellemeyer's last start, I wouldn't rule out a starting pitching trade next.