Outfielder Larry Walker was traded from the Colorado Rockies to the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday night for minor league pitcher Jason Burch and two players to be named.
The addition of Walker, a three-time NL batting champion, gives the Cardinals a power-packed lineup that also includes Albert Pujols, Scott Rolen and Jim Edmonds. They began Friday night with the best record in the major leagues.
The 1997 NL MVP, a seven-time Gold Glove winner, cleared waivers and agreed not to block the deal with his no-trade clause. Colorado is paying St. Louis $7.5 million as part of the trade.
Major league executives planning the move of the Montreal Expos have spent most of the past two months concentrating on the bids of Northern Virginia and downtown Washington, a top baseball official said Friday. Baseball met again Thursday with the Northern Virginia group, according to the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The other areas that have submitted bids -- Las Vegas; Monterrey, Mexico; Norfolk, Va.; Portland, Ore., and San Juan, Puerto Rico -- have not officially been eliminated, but baseball has not devoted as much effort in recent weeks to examining their proposals, the official said.
Chicago White Sox slugger Frank Thomas will miss the rest of the season because of a stress fracture in his left foot. Thomas has been on the disabled list since July 10. He was hitting .271 with 18 homers and 49 RBI when he got hurt, and the two-time AL MVP was leading the league with 64 walks and a .434 on-base percentage.
The Seattle Mariners traded left-handed reliever Mike Myers to the Boston Red Sox for a player to be named or cash. Myers joined Seattle before spring training and went 4-1 with a 4.88 ERA in 50 relief appearances this season. He pitched 272/3 innings, allowing 29 hits and 17 walks, while striking out 23.
