Trading youth for youth

no.  Please, no.

Other than that, I think a BP chat talked about a similar idea, that is a recycled parts swap meet, where GMS would gather and exchange their excess parts for others parts.  

So if the Cards have an excess 1B/OF like Mather, they could bring him to the swap and trade him to a team like the Phillies who have an extra SS prospect.  (Side note: Mather is NOT young, I think he's 26 or 27.)

In reality, there are two problems with it.  First, the pendulum has swung the other direction in that GMS are remiss not to give up any prospects or any that show a hint of value.  Second, and this may be more of a corollary to the first, GMS want to save the prospect for deadline deals when they are buyers, adding major league ready talent to help them in the play off race.  

It is a good idea though, and one of the first rules of negoiations.  Check out the extra that others have.  

So do you guys think Anderson should replace Yadi in the next couple years? You don't hear Yadi's name much on this site, are you guys not fans of him?

Personally I think hes a great catcher and think maybe we can land a great SS prospect with the trading of Anderson. If you don't want Anderson on the block, does that mean your up for letting Yadier walk or be traded?

This is a good post. I don't know much about the farm system but that brings up a good point that we don't necessarly have to trade a major leaguer for what we need.

I think that defense behind the plate is important and that Yadi more than earns his keep with his glove.  His hitting is not the black hole that it was last year and he knows how to take a walk.  His speed (or should I say lack of it) is a liability for sure, but again I think he makes up for that with his game calling talents.  We are not even sure if Anderson can cut it in the Majors yet.  I would hate to trade a proven Big League commodity for the possibility of future offense.  Sometimes great hitting doesn't make up for a lack of defense (see Barrett, Michael).    

i'm most definitely on board w/ that. if he proves to be the better option behind the plate, in a few years you've got a great chip in molina (who i love and do believe has a few good years w/ the bat in him, but anderson could be better).
  beyond that  it is not at all uncommon that good hitting catchers move to another position (and despite his game calling skills the most playable part of brian's game right now is his bat)before they reach the majors (barton to 1b, neil walker (pit) to 3b where he's thriving by the way).
  so considering that the system is mostly devoid of bats you have to keep anderson b/c one way or another he's likely to help you out more down the road.

of trading youth for youth, in fact i've been rolling over different scenarios for this for awhile now, mainly b/c it may be the only way for us to get real value out of trading away one of our bad contracts (rolen?).
  the difference between my scenario and yours is that i'd be looking at young mlb talent, most specifically chris duncan (HOLD the backlash, i know he's young, productive, the 2nd best hitter in our lineup,etc. and of course we all love his feel good story...but dealing him could be a one step back in 08' scenario in order to take two steps forward in 09' and beyond).
  the only reason i dare suggest this is that 1)it would be one of the only possible ways to get out from rolen's deal in the near future 2)outfield is the one area that we have a few players who could step and maybe play...ie if we traded duncan maybe we keep juan cion to platoon w/ ankiel in rf and spell jimmy in cf (which ankiel could also do)and then go out and sign another lf w/ some of our savings (unless a lot of players resign w/ current teams OF will be by far the deepest position in this years' free agent crop...someone's got to fall through to cracks for a 'cardinals' deal)3)right now duncan's value is high, he's improved in the of and could still play 1b or dh in al, versatility that a team such as the angels would love.
  here are possible deals that could work:

duncan/rolen to the la angels for ervin santana or joe saunders +brandon wood (or if wood is untouchable make it erik aybar/sean rodriguez and a lower level prospect)
  makes sense b/c----the angels badly need power and the fact that duncan is under team control for a few more years might just convince stoneman to open up the coffers and surrender a few of his precious minor leaguers. plus rolen has the requisite glove to play infield for mike scoscia.  the cards would get back a 3b or a middle inf plus pitching (santana is struggling right now but has obvious talent..). cards could also take back chone figgins who could take over ecksteins leadoff spot.

duncan/rolen to the la dodgers for andy laroche+scott elbert/clayton kershaw+? (another lower level arm)
  makes sense b/c the dodgers also sorely need power and lf luis gonzalez is only on a 1yr deal (gonzo stated his affection for stl last offseason, if he'd take another 1yr deal an outfield consisting of gonzalez, edmonds, cion, w/ ankiel and ludwick as the backups might not be that bad...and it would still give us lots of future flexibility as gonzo, edmonds, and cion would all be off the books for 09'). duncan slides in lf for la giving them a power bat, rolen goes to 3b shifting nomar to 2nd for the departed jeff kent (i'm pretty sure 07' is the last year of his deal) and the cards get a 3b of the future in laroche (and of the now, he'd be better than anyone else we have at 3b for 08', we spezio filtered in there sometimes if the rookie struggles), plus a young pitcher.

 as i stated previous this type of deal would prob rankle many w/in the fan base, but it may be what's best for the FUTURE of the org

either team does either of those deals.  Rolen has zero value right now.  Kershaw and Elbert are both top 25 prospects.  

 i doubt kershaw goes but elbert might be a different story...he's had injury issues and though he has great strikeout nos. he also has had pretty serious control issues...a great talent but not a perfect prospect by any means (also don't forget how fluid prospect rankings are...this years 31, elberts' ba ranking, could be next years 60, all it takes is a nick in the armor for the experts to find someone better).  and i don't necessarily agree that there is "no way" either of those deals gets done---it wasn't just about rolens' value but about duncan's.
  neither of those teams are getting power production (unless you count betemit's pinch hits) from their 3b spots anyway (even in his terrible down year rolen has more hrs than nomar and figgins isn't a power hitter)and rolen does still provide excellent defense, which both org value.  but once again that's not the reason that either team would make the deal---the reason is that both teams are desperate for power--and that's the one skill duncan possesses in abundance.  add in the fact that he's cheap, under team control, and as an added bonus can also play 1b and you have a pretty valuable player.
  and... outside of pitching, the one thing most teams covet is power so that's not going to come cheaply.
  a few years ago no one thought the marlins could move mike lowell's onerous contract but they did by offering up josh beckett and promising not to surrender him unless someone took lowell. and yes, the red sox did give up two good young players in that deal...but it wasn't all bad for them---they got becket and signed him to a below market deal, and lowell has revived himself there.
  in short, while these exact deals might not happen (not the point anyway)what i was trying to get at was that the cardinals should consider getting creative in turning things around...not necessarily only trading veterans but look at what other packages might bring.

as another precedent...it is widely acknowledged that miguel tejada would have been traded to laa last year for santana and aybar if o's owner peter angelos hadn't nixed the deal.  
   he and rolen are owed similar amounts of money (although i think rolen's deal run one year longer)and in the aforementioned deal you not only would be recieving rolen but also a young cheap power hitter, two players for the price of miggy (whose power has also declined though not to the point of rolens').  and beyond that santana's value has dropped significantly since last years' trade deadline...making this possibility even a little more feasible...still not saying it would happen...but i also think that saying there's 'no way' it would is being overly pessimistic