Yeah it does really sound like it is too good to be true, and if nothing happens over the next few weeks here we will know either if it was just a falsehood or if I have supremely underrated the stupidity of our GM.
And one thing I would offer up (and this is made without any knowledge of what STL actually wants in a trade), is the idea of shipping of Buehrle to the Cards. He loves them, and with Jeff Suppan (bad) and Brad Penny (he had a career-year at age 32, time to cash out) out of their collective hair, the idea adding a solid (maybe they think he is, I don't know, plus he'll be going to the NL, so you could conceivably sell them on seeing an up-tick in production based on the league) left-handed starter in Buehrle for not all that much in return might be enticing. The added advantage of letting Penny go in favor of Buehrle is that he (Buehrle) only has one more year left on his deal--whereas Penny would more than likely command at least a two-year deal--which takes him off the books after the last season of Pujols' deal, conceivably ensuring that the Cards don't have to completely vaporize their budget to re-sign him.
For the Sox, that leaves Floyd, Danks and Jackson cemented in the rotation, with Garcia (I know, I know, but consider his name a filler for "any scrap heap pitcher") and another scrap heap arm in the rotation until Peavy returns. Not the best of rotations, obviously, but not necessarily terrible, either, and hey, who hasn't needed more than their fair share of luck to make it to and through the post-season? Then, the team would be free to pursue virtually any one or two FA's they wanted, hopefully Dunn and V-Mart.
All added up, we'd be looking at about an average rotation (with the potential to be above average with the return of Peavy or returned success Floyd and continued success of Danks and Jackson) with an above average offense, a solid mix that the numbers show puts teams in a better position to make a run at the playoffs. This is opposed to the "OMG!!!" and "please, no" respective approaches to pitching and offense of last year, a mix that doesn't tend to do too well in the hunt for the post-season. Sprinkle in a bit of good fortune here and there, and we could potentially see a quick turnaround in overall performance and finish.