Value of Holliday, Atkins Questioned

The question is an immediate topic of discussion anytime a Rockies hitter is mentioned in trade talks.

What happens when you take him out of Coors Field?

Left fielder Matt Holliday's home-road splits last season were not terribly extreme — he had a .997 on-base/slugging percentage at home, an .891 OPS on the road.

Still, maybe the Cardinals should think twice about their proposed trade for Holliday, which, according to one source, would require them to part with outfielders Ryan Ludwick and Skip Schumaker along with right-hander Mitchell Boggs.

If the Cardinals made such a deal, they presumably would make a strong push to sign Holliday to a contract extension. Holliday, a native of Stillwater, Okla., surely would be open to staying in St. Louis. But his agent, Scott Boras, prefers his clients to establish their values on the open market.

The Cardinals, then, would risk keeping Holliday for only one season while giving up three years of Ludwick, four years of Schumaker and six of Boggs.

Such a deal would not be unreasonable — Ludwick, 30, and Schumaker, 28, might only be one-year wonders, while Boggs is unproven at the major league level.

The combination of Holliday and Albert Pujols, meanwhile, would make the Cardinals' offense far more potent, and the ascension of top outfield prospect Colby Rasmus could provide another boost.

Assuming, of course, that Holliday would be as formidable in St. Louis as he has been in Colorado.

While Coors is not the hitters' paradise it once was, it still ranked third in run production last season according to park factor, which compares the rate of stats to the rate of stats on the road.

One rival general manager who is interested in Holliday dismissed any suggestion that the slugger is a Coors creation, saying, "He's just a good player." Keep in mind, too, that Holliday played 23 of his 66 road games last season in pitcher friendly NL West parks — San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego. Still, Ludwick had the higher road OPS, with a pronounced edge in slugging.

Of course, Holliday is a road warrior compared to his teammate — and fellow subject of trade discussions — infielder Garrett Atkins.

Atkins' .904 OPS at home last season was the 18th highest in the NL, while his .661 road OPS was the fifth lowest. He also was a defensive liability, ranking 31st in the majors at third base and 30th at first among qualifying players at those positions, according to the plus-minus rankings at Bill James Online.

One GM with a need at third base said he would not pursue Atkins because of his poor road numbers, defensive inadequacies and declining performance in each of the past two seasons.

The Rockies, though, still could find a market for Atkins, who is two years away from free agency. The only quality free-agent third basemen are Casey Blake, who is 35, and Joe Crede, who has a history of back trouble.

Whatever happens, the only way for Holliday and Atkins to erase the Coors stigma would be to duplicate their offensive statistics with another team.

At least one of them figures to get the chance.

The Nationals: Thinking big

Never mind the Nationals' 59-102 record last season, the worst in the majors. Club officials believe that the team is reasonably close to a breakthrough, which is why they are pursuing sluggers such as Holliday and free agents Mark Teixeira and Adam Dunn.

Why such optimism?

For one thing, the Nats were crushed by injuries last season. At least one player at every position missed considerable time. Nine players — including right-hander Shawn Hill and outfielders Elijah Dukes and Austin Kearns — had multiple stints on the disabled list.

The Nats obviously expect to be healthier next season. They also expect increased contributions from their farm system, which jumped from 30th in 2007 to ninth in '08 in the Baseball America organizational talent rankings.

In truth, the Nationals might be a year away from significant improvement, but the addition of a big bat would greatly benefit No. 3 hitter Ryan Zimmerman and enable the team to remove Lastings Milledge from the middle of the order.

That is, if the Nats could pull off such a move.

The Rockies believe they could make a Holliday trade with the Nationals if they accepted quantity over quality, but the Cardinals, A's and other clubs probably have more to offer.

Dunn made it clear after getting traded to the Diamondbacks that he wanted to sign with a contender. Teixeira will have any number of appealing options, all of them more attractive than the Nationals.

Manny Ramirez?

Jim Bowden, the Nats' unconventional GM, probably would love the idea, but D.C. might not be big enough for Manny and Barack Obama.

Around the horn

The Padres are still weighing offers for right-hander Jake Peavy, and on Friday discussed the possibility of keeping the pitcher if they fail to receive a satisfactory proposal, according to a major league source. The Braves, after weeks of discussions, are growing impatient, another source said, and soon might push for a resolution. The Braves and Cubs remain the front-runners, with the Yankees and Dodgers on the backburner. ...

The White Sox are in an ideal position with right-hander Javier Vazquez — they can wait until the top free-agent pitchers sign their new deals, then market Vazquez as a much more affordable alternative.

Vazquez, 32, is owed $23 million over the next two seasons — a bargain for a pitcher who has produced four straight 200-inning seasons, albeit with a 49-51 record and 4.41 ERA. ...

The Rays have yet to engage in serious trade conversations about right-handers Edwin Jackson and Andy Sonnanstine. The Mets are one of many clubs interested in the two pitchers, but the Rays are no further along with them than they are with the 28 other teams. ...

Padres GM Kevin Towers says the team eventually plans to move in the fences at Petco Park. "I'm even for it now," Towers said. "Right field is Death Valley." Towers recalled that the team signed Ryan Klesko long-term believing that left-handed power hitters would perform well at Petco. "It's been the polar opposite," Towers said.

This article originally published on FOXSports.com.

Read more of Ken's columns here.