- Jason Heyward stirred up enormous expectations when he joined the Atlanta Braves at age 20. He homered in his first big league at-bat. He was voted to the All-Star Game as a rookie. He was hailed as the future of the game by Hank Aaron. Heyward never quite lived up to the hype, and now he's heading to a team looking to bounce back from tragedy. Concerned that Heyward would leave as a free agent after next season and rebuilding with an eye toward their new stadium, the Braves dealt their right fielder and reliever Jordan Walden to the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday for promising pitcher Shelby Miller and a minor-leaguer. "It's very difficult to trade Jason Heyward," said John Hart, the Braves' new general manager. "But the deal was made to help us not only in the short term but the long term." The NL Central champion Cardinals felt compelled to pursue Heyward after top prospect Oscar Taveras was killed in a car crash last month in the Dominican Republic. The team hopes to sign Heyward to a long-term extension but didn't want to go into next season without adding to the offense. "The reality is we have to move on," St. Louis general manager John Mozeliak said. Read more http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/1...-louis-cardinals-shelby-miller-tyrell-jenkins
