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Catch of the day Cardinals send Slocumb to Padres for Hernandez
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- The St. Louis Cardinals, suddenly with an abundance of relief pitchers, traded righthander Heathcliff Slocumb to the San Diego Padres Monday for catcher Carlos Hernandez. The teams also exchanged minor leaguers. Slocumb, 34, was 2-3 with a 5.44 earned run average this season and led Cardinals relievers with 49.2 innings pitched. He has played with several teams during his eight-year career. The acquisition of Hernandez, 33, fills a void left when Eli Marrero went on the disabled list with a strained left thumb on July 2. Marrero, who had been splitting time with Mike Matheny, isn't expected back until September at the earliest. "We had three primary concerns to address before the trading deadline," Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty said. "We feel with today's addition of Hernandez, we have accomplished what we set out to do -- improve the bullpen and add a quality catcher." Hernandez recently came off the disabled list with a strained lower back. He is hitting .251 with two homers and 25 runs batted in. He missed all of last season with a ruptured left Achilles tendon. In 1998, his first as a starter, he hit .262 with nine homers and 52 RBIs. Hernandez, a .252 lifetime hitter, is under contract through 2001. St. Louis acquired righthander Mike Timlin from the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday, and lefthanded reliever Jason Christiansen from Pittsburgh on Sunday, making Slocumb expendable. Also as part of the deal, the Cardinals acquired infielder/outfielder Nathan Tebbs and gave up outfielder Ben Johnson. Tebbs, 27, joined San Diego in May after being released by Baltimore. Jocketty said he will be assigned to either Class AAA Memphis or Class AA Arkansas. Johnson, 19, was hitting .242 with 13 homers and 46 RBIs for Class A Peoria. He hit .330 with 10 homers and 51 RBIs for rookie-league Johnson City in 1999. The NL Central-leading Cardinals have seen a 10-game lead over second-place Cincinnati dip to four games during the past month. The Cardinals have lost four straight; Cincinnati has won three straight.
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