St. Louis Cardinals: Ranking the 10 best trades in the last 20 years

3. December 14, 2003: The St. Louis Cardinals land Waino and compliments.

Cardinals Receive: Adam Wainwright, Jason Marquis, and Ray King

Braves Receive: J.D. Drew, Eli Marrero

Adam Wainwright needs no introduction. In a little under three years from this point, he will have been celebrating striking out Brandon Inge for the Cardinals’ first World Series title in over 20 years. Soon after, he transitioned to a starting pitcher role and quickly became the ace and leader of the dugout.

Wainwright has a 3.12 ERA in 1891.2 innings pitched for St. Louis, and will go down as one of the greatest Cardinals ever.

Jason Marquis was another decent pickup in the trade, as he served as a solid 4th or 5th starter for several years in St. Louis, despite his ugly final year. King also had a decent but short tenure with St. Louis, registering a 2.91 ERA in 102 innings with the Cardinals over two seasons.

But this package didn’t come cheaply. J.D. Drew had a lot of expectations as a 1st-round pick for the Cardinals, and perhaps it was those expectations that made it difficult for him to consistently succeed in St. Louis.

He found his niche and stayed relatively healthy after this trade, and put up a spectacular season for the Braves, hitting .305/.436/.569 with 31 homers and 93 RBIs, and he drew more walks (118) than he struck out (116). He would go on to have a very respectable career, playing 14 years and finishing his career with a .278/.384/.489 line with 242 home runs and 795 RBIs.

Marrero was a solid player as well, making it a trade in which both sides benefited.