Redbirds ship King to Colorado, offer arbitration to Morris

~ St. Louis acquires infielder, outfielder from Rockies.

DALLAS -- Left-hander Ray King has been traded from St. Louis to Colorado for outfielder Larry Bigbie and infielder Aaron Miles.

King was 4-4 with a 3.38 ERA in 77 relief appearances for the Cardinals, but didn't make an appearance in either of the team's playoffs series this year.

"We're very excited to add a left-handed pitcher of Ray's caliber to our bullpen," Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd said after Wednesday night's trade. "He brings a veteran presence to the later innings of a game, and his track record speaks for itself."

The Cardinals also offered arbitration to free-agent pitcher Matt Morris, who was 14-10 with a 4.11 ERA in 31 starts last season.

Players who became free agents and weren't offered arbitration cannot re-sign with their former clubs until May 1. Those offered arbitration have until Dec. 19 to accept and can re-sign through Jan. 8.

In 447 career games for the Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee, Atlanta and St. Louis, King is 18-18 with a 3.12 ERA. In 12 career appearances at Coors Field, opposing hitters have hit just 4-for-27 (.148) against him and he has allowed one run in 8 1-3 innings. He turns 32 next month.

Bigbie was traded from Baltimore to Colorado for outfielder Eric Byrnes on July 29. He hit a combined .239 with five homers and 23 RBIs for the Rockies and Orioles.

Miles, who started 69 games at second base for the Rockies, batted .281 with two home runs and 28 RBIs in 99 games last season.