The Cardinals completed their trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers sending Skip Schumaker for minor league shortstop Jake Lemmerman, a fifth round pick in 2010. Reports surfaced late Tuesday that Schumaker would be dealt, but the clubs didn’t make it official until late Wednesday after Schumaker passed a physical.
The reason the trade went down, is the Cardinals didn’t see a fit for Schumaker and finding playing time for the 33 year old who still has one year left on a contract was going to be difficult. Schumaker was open to a trade.
Whether or not the Cardinals got enough for Schumaker is debatable, but Lemmerman fills a need within the team’s system. The Cardinals are not sold on Pete Kozma being the guy they could rely on after Rafael Furcal becomes a free agent after next season, so they will try to develop this 23 year old. The team has not decided on where Lemmerman will start the season, whether it’s Double or Triple-A.
