Cardinals, Blue Jays Make Notable Trade Involving Flamethrower

The St. Louis Cardinals have shipped off their first big piece, a rental that many thought could sign an extension in the coming days.

After negotiations that went awry, St. Louis did the next best thing, trading the right-hander at the peak of his value.

St. Louis traded right-hander Jordan Hicks to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for right-handers Sam Robberse and Adam Kloffenstein according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Sunday.

Robberse is the No. 7 prospect in the Blue Jays’ system according to MLB Pipeline amid a solid season for Double-A New Hampshire.

The 21-year-old has a 4.06 ERA with an 86-to-33 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .213 batting average again and 1.17 WHIP in 88 2/3 across 18 starts.

Kloffenstein doesn't have the same pedigree but has been more successful this season. The 22-year-old has a 3.24 ERA with a 105-to-34 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .236 batting average against and 1.27 WHIP in 89 innings across 17 starts for Double-A New Hampshire.

Both prospects in the deal have encouraging game-level numbers, especially good strikeout rates, low walk rates and really strong batting averages against.

These two mark a solid start to the Cardinals' sale, as they need to obtain as many highly-touted arms as possible.

As for the Blue Jays, they have an impressive closer to replace Jordan Romano while he spends some time on the injured list. When Romano returns, they'll have a nasty duo to handle high-leverage situations.

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