By Steve Nitz

In case you haven’t heard, Matt Holliday was traded to St. Louis earlier today. In return, the A’s received third baseman Brett Wallace, right-hander Clayton Mortensen, and outfielder Shane Peterson.

Obviously, this is a tough pill to swallow for players who had Holliday in AL-only leagues. But for everyone else, this comes as a blessing. Holliday, who was hitting .286 wiht 11 homers, 54 RBIs, and 12 stolen bases prior to the trade, should only get better moving from cavernous Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum and a horrible Oakland lineup. In St. Louis, he’ll be able to hit in a better park, and he’ll also be hitting behind Albert Pujols in a good Cardinals lineup. Those in NL-only leagues shouldn’t hesitate to use the No. 1 waiver priority on him.

The only other player in the trade who could have fantasy value is Wallace, the 13th overall pick in last year’s draft. Wallace was rated as the No. 40 prospect in all of baseball by BaseballAmerica before the season. So far, Wallace has hit .289 with 11 homers and 35 RBIs between AA and AAA this year.

Wallace will head to Oakland’s AAA club in Sacramento, and he should see Oakland before the year’s over. A third baseman now, he could wind up a first eventually. He could have some value in AL-only leagues when he does get the call.