Cardinals trade Hawksworth for Dodgers infielder Theriot

ST. LOUIS -- Faced with a surplus of infielders, the Los Angeles Dodgers traded Ryan Theriot to the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday for pitcher Blake Hawksworth.

The Dodgers made the move while also announcing they had signed free agent infielder Juan Uribe to a three-year contract.

The Cardinals completed another deal, too, signing free agent pitcher Brian Tallet. Theriot and Tallet were teammates on the 2000 LSU team that won the NCAA title.

Theriot hit .270 with 29 RBIs last season while with the Chicago Cubs and Dodgers. He primarily plays second base and shortstop.

Theriot, who turns 31 next week, was traded with pitcher Ted Lilly from the Cubs to the Dodgers last July 31.

"Ryan is a perfect complement to our roster," Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said in a statement. "He's a highly competitive player with a winning approach to the game. We expect him to be a key contributor to our middle infield."

Theriot batted a career-high .307 in 2008 and is a lifetime .284 hitter in 663 games. He is third among middle infielders in multihit games over the past three seasons, trailing only Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano, and has stolen at least 20 bases in each of the last four seasons.

Theriot became expendable when the Dodgers signed Uribe. The 31-year-old Uribe hit a career-best 24 home runs last season for the World Series champion San Francisco Giants, mostly playing shortstop.

Hawksworth went 4-8 with a 4.98 ERA in 45 games, including eight starts. The 27-year-old righty went 4-0 as a rookie in 2009.

Hawksworth's season ended when he was hit in the face by a line drive in late September. He needed about 20 stitches after being struck by the liner off the bat of the Cubs' Sam Fuld.

Tallet, who signed a one-year deal, spent the last five years with Toronto. The 33-year-old lefty was 2-6 with a 6.40 ERA in 34 games, five of them starts.

Tallet is 16-23 with a 4.65 ERA in 223 games with Toronto and Cleveland. He made a career-high 25 stars for the Blue Jays in 2009 and held left-handed hitters to a .176 batting average.