Cardinals Interested In Astros Pitchers Bud Norris and Lucas Harrell

Peter Gammons dropped this bit of information on Twitter in the late morning:

Cards are asking about a SS as well as P. Interested in Lucas Harrell and Bud Norris of Astros

— Peter Gammons (@pgammo) March 16, 2013

In case you had not heard Rafael Furcal had Tommy John and will miss the 2013 season. Pete Kozma is currently penciled in as the Cardinals starting shortstop for the season. Furcal's injury comes after the Cardinals announced that Chris Carpenter would be shut down for the entire 2013 season so it's not surprising the Cardinals are checking into the trade market to fill the holes left by Furcal and Carpenter.

Who could the Astros get in return? Here are Sean's thoughts on what kind of trade it could be and the return the Astros could expect:

I wonder if Luhnow would try to include Marwin Gonzalez or maybe Jonathan Villar along with Harrell or Norris to maximize the return. I'd love for the Astros to target Kolten Wong, Matt Adams, or Joe Kelly(not all in one trade) in a trade.

I've always thought that Matt Adams was a fit for the Astros as the DH and could fill that role if the Astros move Carlos Pena prior to the season.

Kolten Wong would be a stretch, but could be a key piece if the Astros include additional players. It would also allow the Astros to be flexible with Jose Altuve. I've always thought that if a team offers a big enough package that the Astros would be willing to listen on Jose Altuve. Will they? That's a different story.

That's the fun that about Luhnow's trades. You would have a better chance of picking the wining lotto numbers than predicting his trade return.

The Cardinals just moved Matt Carpenter to second base this Spring so the Cardinals have built up some depth at second base. I think putting Jose Altuve in the deal is an interesting idea and that David would love a Wong return. Ultimately, I don't see the Cardinals and Astros hooking up for a trade. Jeff Luhnow just knows too much about the organization which means the Cardinals are negotiating at a disadvantage right off the bat and more and more players are going to become available as Spring Training winds down. More players will be released, waived or traded because they're out of options.

Then again, like Sean said, predicting what Luhnow will do is like predicting the winning lotto numbers.

Updated: Here are David's thoughts on the trade:

Jeff Luhnow has already traded with the Cardinals once, to pick up Tyler Greene at a very reduced price. However, he could have more difficulty pulling off his Jedi mind tricks on John Mozeliak than any other GM in the league.

He worked for Mozeliak in a very close way, so the Cards GM knows exactly how Luhnow feels about prospects in his system. There will be no slipping in a sleeper pitcher or outfielder into this group, because there's a good chance that Mozeliak has a very good idea how Luhnow values those players. Even if he doesn't feel the same way about them, he can ask a bigger price from Luhnow because he knows how much he likes a Matt Adams for example.

I also think you'll see Luhnow try to fill a hole on the major league roster with this trade. Three guys to look for are shortstop Ryan Jackson, who could come in and be Marwin Gonzalez with slightly better defense and on-base skills, outfielder Anthony Garcia, who is a little like D'Andre Toney in his upside/rawness, and middle infielder Greg Garcia, who is a little in the Nolan Fontana mold with his on-base skills.

Adams would obviously be a great get, too, but also creates problems to where he'd play in this lineup.