[OOTPRealTime]

Well, the deal is done - pending physicals. It took all night just to get back to where we started for the most part. The dinner was nice, but we didn't do much trade talk. More talk about our families, the ownership we work under, lifestyle, etc. Eventually, Daniels brought it up and said fairly nonchalant, "So, we're looking at Wigginton, Jackson and Jenkins for Garcia, right?" I looked over at DK and gave a little smirk. I replied with, "and Ogando, right?" He looked over at his right hand men and gave a similar smirk. He was just pulling our chains now. I heard this is something he does. He drags out trades and makes the other possible suitors fall in love with what they are getting in return and then just rib them at the end acting like that was the deal the whole time. I didn't have time for this and threatened to leave the table.

He said to calm down and admitted he was just half playing around. He did bring up Adron Chambers and I flat out told him that if we were doing Chambers in this deal, we would need Ronald Guzman. He said he understood. The meal was over and it was late. He said that we had a deal. He wanted Chambers though so the deal was Ryan Jackson, Ty Wigginton, Adron Chambers and Tyrell Jenkins for Leury Garcia, Alexi Ogando and Ronald Guzman. It was a little late to contact each player/agent to let them know, so we decided to wait until the morning.

On the cab ride back to the hotel, I was checking Twitter and I'll be damned if Rosenhaus didn't already know something...

@KenRosenhaus #Rangers and #Cardinals are reportedly close in talks. Not sure of the specifics but a shortstop is involved.

He must have got that from Daniels. Regardless, I knew that Wigginton made his off-season home in California and I wanted to do him the courtesy of making a personal call to let him know. So, I gave him a call just as we were getting back to the hotel.

Ty: Hello?

Me: Ty, Parker Campbell...

Ty: Yeah, what's up?

Me: Ty, you're headed to Texas.

Ty: Oh, really? Ok, cool. Thanks.

(I basically did him a favor trading him to the defending Champions)

Me: Sure thing. C.J. (our traveling secretary) will get in touch with you tomorrow to set up your physical and whatever else you need.

Ty: Got it. Thanks.

Me: Best of luck, Ty.

Ty: You too.

(click)

Wigginton was sour on his role here and wasn't thrilled with a few things in St. Louis so he wasn't upset at all. I've made a rule with myself that I would make the personal calls to any players involved in trades that have played at the big league level. I'll let DK handle the calls to agents of the minor league guys. I figured I would call Jackson and Chambers tomorrow (today).

So, I called each of them personally and by the time DK reported back that Jenkins knew - it was all over twitter and the media.

@KenRosenhaus Confirmed. #Cardinals do get a Texas SS - but not Andrus or Profar. 7-player swap that includes Leury Garcia. #Rangers get top P prospect Tyrell Jenkins

@dgold The #Cardinals have traded Ty Wigginton, Ryan Jackson, Adron Chambers & Tyrell Jenkins (#4 prospect) to Texas for SS Leury Garcia, Alexi Ogando & R. Guzman

@MattLurchMLB #Rangers get the veteran power, bench bat and best prospect in the deal (Jenkins). #stlcards get their SS and provide pitching depth. #hotstove

@bzlamick Day after Campbell gets first signing (J. Molina), he finalizes first trade. 7-players - gets his SS - trades prospect.

@JoseSantos Not sure about this one but time will tell. Scouts say that Garcia is + defensively, just 22-yrs old, + base stealer but not a leadoff man (117 K at AAA LY). #stlcards

Derek called quickly this morning to discuss and get some quotes for his story tomorrow. I gave the typical answers and you'll see them in his in-depth story tomorrow. We did have a media conference all to discuss the trade and I am scheduled to go on a couple of sports talk radio shows this evening to answer questions surrounding the deal.

I'm relieved to get this done. It addresses many needs, and turns over our roster a bit. DK is happy because we got younger and he really thinks there is something there with Ronald Guzman, who may be the youngest player in the deal, but could end up being the best player in the trade. Possibly.

I got a few "congratulations" from other GM's in the lobby as we strolled through - though, honestly, mostly it was met with little discussion - which is fine. We weren't the only ones making moves - obviously, it's the Winter Meetings. The Giants and Sabean added yet another solid arm to that bullpen - dealing 23-year old minor league prospect Chris Stratton to the Marlins for Steve Cishek. They have replaced Chad Gaudin, Wesley Wright and Javier Lopez with Balfour and now Cishek. They are going to be strong.

@Rockies We are happy to announce a two-year deal with LHP Matt Thornton! He'll be a welcome addition to our bullpen.

@KenRosenhaus 37-year old had 1.87 ERA w/ #WhiteSox last year. RT @Rockies We are happy to announced a two-year deal with LHP Matt Thornton.

As is usually the case in this business, we could enjoy our moment for less than 15 minutes when I received a call from the agent of Joel Hanrahan who informed me that we have been outbid - and by quite a bit. The bidding war is on for him and he told me that Beane in Oakland leads it right now. They'd need 4-years and $29 Million to top it. Which, for Hanrahan, still isn't a crazy amount of money - especially since we have it right now. But, in general, we don't like being involved in bidding wars. He is 32 years old, and would be 36 when this one ends. The first thought would be to front load the contract because we have the money now - and thus, would make his a trade-able asset if he struggles or we need to deal him. The second thought would be up the AAV to closer to $9 Million and just see if we can do two or three years (with an option, of course). And, the third option, is to bag it and try to find another option. The fact that we added Ogando, makes signing Hanrahan more of a luxury than anything at this point. Though, I really like him and the bullpen is so important to our success.

I consulted DK on it. He likes Hanrahan a lot, but that seems a bit excessive and with Ogando and Motte coming back - he isn't a necessity. I agreed. I told his agent that we're likely out on him. That's disappointing. We were hoping to get him at a decent price and make the 7th (Motte)- 8th (Hanrahan) and 9th (Rosenthal) as tough as possible. The focus then shifts to Joba Chamberlain, who as dominant in New York before being dealt to Houston, where he struggled mightily. DK likes him a lot too - but his one weakness - control - is a huge problem for me. His stuff is not to be questioned. It's the guys who can't harness that ridiculous god-given gift that drives me up the wall. Then again, he is seeking far less money (about $3 Million for two years - at least, last time I checked) and is younger (28 years old).

So, I didn't want to drag my feet on him - after Hanrahan and Chamberlain are gone, there are some older options but we'd like to nab one of these two if possible. Joba's camp tells me that their best offer right now is from Minnesota and that to top it, we're looking at around $3.5 Million for two years. They only want to sign a two-year deal so that in case he has a big couple of seasons, they can cash in one more time. Also, they want the '15 season a player option - in case he has an incredible 2014 - they can opt out and get that big contract a year earlier. Not going to happen with us. So, I made a verbal offer of 2-years, $6.72 Million ($3.35 per year). They said they'd think about it and let us know.

A busy day today and the Winter Meetings officially end tonight and conclude with the Rule V Draft taking place tomorrow. We have the crew back in St. Louis scouring the eligible players list to see if there is anybody we should be interested in - we don't expect to make any moves and we have everybody protected that we need to hold on to.