Cardinals get Clark as fill-in for McGwire

BALTIMORE The St. Louis Cardinals, eager to get a left-handed batand a fill-in for the injured Mark McGwire, obtained first basemanWill Clark from the Baltimore Orioles on Monday for third basemanJose Leon.

McGwire went on the disabled list July 6 with pain in his rightknee and hasn't played since, missing the All-Star Game. TheCardinals are 8-13 without him.

Clark was hitting .301 with nine homers and 28 RBI in 79 gameswith Baltimore. Since June 13, he hit .323 with eight homers and 20RBI in 36 games.

"My going to St. Louis doesn't mean that Mark McGwire is not theman," said Clark, who played with McGwire on the 1984 United StatesOlympic team. "I'm just sort of holding down the fort until the bigguy comes back."

The Cardinals are certainly a better team with McGwire in thelineup, but there's no telling when he will get back. Until he does,St. Louis has some insurance in Clark.

"There's some uncertainty about Mark," Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa said. "We think he's got a chance to come back, but in themeantime Will Clark's a winning-type of veteran. He should help us."

Clark, 36, started his major-league career in 1986 with SanFrancisco. He was in his second season with the Orioles and in thefinal year of a two-year contract.

"Will's a veteran who plays well and knows how to come up and geta base hit in a key situation," La Russa said. "He's a verycompetitive guy. That's a heck of a coup for us."

The Orioles also sent cash to the Cardinals as part of the trade.

Leon, 23, hit .269 in 90 games for Class AA Arkansas. He will beassigned to the Orioles' Class AA team in Bowie, Md.

The deal was one of five by the Orioles in the span of four days,most of which involved trading veterans for players with potential.The purge began with a trade that sent Mike Bordick to the New YorkMets for Melvin Mora and three prospects.

Clark, like Bordick, leaves a fourth-place team for one incontention.

"You flat-out look at the numbers and say I'm going from a ballclub that's basically in a rebuilding stage now-there's no way to sayanything other than that-to a first-place ballclub," Clark said."I've been in the playoffs before and I'm really looking forward togetting back in them again. And I'm happy."

Clark, who has never been traded in the middle of a season, playedin the 1989 World Series with San Francisco. But his only two tripsto the postseason in the 1990s came in 1996 and 1998 with the TexasRangers, who were eliminated in the first round.

In another move, the Cardinals traded former Cub right-handerHeathcliff Slocumb, 34, to the San Diego Padres for catcher CarlosHernandez, 33. The teams also exchanged minor leaguers.