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The St. Louis Cardinals made several trade acquisitions at the deadline this year. Here is how they have been performing since joining the organization.
Cardinals Find a Trade Partner in Toronto
The Cardinals and Blue Jays made several trades this year. Unsurprisingly, the Cardinals received the most value from the Jordan Hicks trade, but they didn’t get much out of Paul DeJong and Genesis Cabrera. Many fans were unhappy with the return from all three, but a small return is what should have been expected. DeJong and Hicks were rentals, and Cabrera was unloaded due to having some disagreements with management.
The Cardinals received RHP Adam Kloffenstein and RHP Sem Robberse in exchange for Hicks. Additionally, they acquired C Sammy Hernandez and RHP Matt Svanson for Cabrera and Dejong.
RHP Sem Robberse (Triple-A) Prospect Rank #8
15 IP, 8.40 ERA,
14 ER, 24 H, 13 BB, 14 K,
.369 AVG, 2.47 ERA
RHP Adam Kloffenstein (Triple-A) Prospect Ranking #17
24 IP, 2.63 ERA,
7 ER, 18 H, 14 BB, 25 K,
.214 AVG, 1.33 WHIP
C Sammy Hernandez (FCL/Single-A)
FCL, 6 Games
.250/.429/.750,
4/16, 4 R, 1 3B, 2 HR, 4 RBI
5 BB, 2 K
Single-A, 7 Games
.261/.393/.391/.784
6/23, 6 R, 1 HR, 5 RBI
5 BB, 6K.
RHP Matt Svanson (Double-A) 14.1 IP, 4.40 ERA, 2 HLD, 2 SV, 7 ER, 14 H, 4 BB, 14 K,
.280 AVG, 1.26 WHIP
Cardinals Trade Flaherty for Multiple Prospects
Jack Flaherty was once considered the future ace for the Cardinals. Unfortunately for both the Cardinals and Flaherty, this never materialized. Seemingly, every time he got on track, his progress would be derailed by injury. After the Cardinals’ season went down the drain, it was a foregone conclusion that they would be moving the righty. There was never any doubt that he was going to test free agency, so it was a smart move by the organization to get what they could before he was gone.
The Cardinals and Baltimore Orioles managed to put a trade together in the final hours before the deadline. The Cardinals traded the right-handed Flaherty and received LHP Drew Rom, IF César Prieto, and RHP Zack Showalter.
LHP Drew Rom (Triple-A/MLB)
Prospect Ranking #30
MLB,
9 IP, 8.00 ERA
8 ER, 13 H, 5 BB, 10 K,
.325 AVG, 2.00 WHIP
Triple-A,
11 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 4 BB, 18 K,
.056 AVG, 0.55 WHIP
IF César Prieto (Triple-A)
Prospect Ranking #14
.310/.351/.448
27/87, 15 R, 3 2B, 3 HR, 12 RBI
5 BB, 15 K
RHP Zack Showalter (Single-A) 0.00 ERA, 1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 1 K, .000 AVG, 1.00 WHIP
Cardinals Receive Talented Prospects from Rangers
Undoubtedly, the Cardinals got the best return from their trade with the Texas Rangers. The Cardinals traded LHP Jordan Montgomery and RHP Chris Stratton for left-handed reliever John King, top pitching prospect Tekoah Roby and utility infielder Thomas Saggese. All three have impressed so far.
RP John King (MLB)
10 G, 0-0 1.93 ERA, 3 HLD
9.1 IP, 2 ER, 9 H, 1 BB, 4 K, HR
.257 AVG, 1.07 WHIP
SP Tekoah Roby (Double-A) Prospect Ranking #5
1 G, 0-0 3.00 ERA
3 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 6 K
.100 AVG, 0.67 WHIP
IF Thomas Saggese (Double-A) Prospect Ranking #9
26 Games
.347/.424/.713/1.137
35/101, 22 R, 4 2B, 3 3B, 9 HR, 25 RBI, 2/2 SB
14 BB, 27 K
Cardinals Added Much Needed Depth in Minors
The Cardinals added prospects in an obvious place of need and grabbed a couple of good position players as well. The return may not have the immediate impact that many would hope, but it was a good return for rental players. The Cardinals added three prospects that immediately broke into their top ten, and three that are in the top 30. The team did a good job of getting some value out of players that were likely to be moving on in free agency. This is likely only the first phase as more moves will be coming in the off-season.
