Heath Bell remains the apple of most St. Louis Cardinals-pointed MLB rumor-mongers' eye, but there are plenty of other relievers on the trading block—and some of them even have a ton of closing experience and solid numbers in 2011! For a particularly low price, owing to his injury history, advanced age, and recent comeback, the Cards could pluck from the New York Mets a pitcher with 293 saves and a 2011 ERA of 3.38. The only problem is that he would have to be Jason Isringhausen.
That's right: Izzy, the Cardinals' occasionally dominating, perpetually anxiety-inducing all-time saves leader has made a mostly successful return to the Major Leagues after most of two seasons in injury-induced quasi-retirement, and now the Mets are apparently looking to shop him around.
As much as I would love the wild cheers and subsequent boos that would be inevitable when Jason Isringhausen returned to Busch Stadium, there's one massive caveat: After a strong start, Izzy's peripherals have taken a serious nosedive and now resemble nobody's so much as the recently released Miguel Batista. It's too small a sample size to have any idea about what kind of pitcher Isringhausen is today, so any team looking to acquire him will have to base their decision mostly on his scouting results and his history.