Cardinals Complete Franchise-Altering Trade With Rangers Involving Ace
The St. Louis Cardinals are not messing around on Sunday afternoon, making notable moves left and right.
Just moments after it was announced that right-hander Jordan Hicks will be heading to the Toronto Blue Jays, the Cardinals made an even bigger splash.
The Cardinals are sending left-handed ace Jordan Montgomery and right-handed reliever Chris Stratton to the Texas Rangers in exchange for infielder Thomas Saggese, right-handed starter Tekoah Roby and left-handed reliever John King according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.
Montgomery (6-9, 3.42 ERA) is a huge loss to the Cardinals, especially if the trade takes him out of consideration for a possible reunion next season. Stratton (1-1, 4.36 ERA) has much less of an overall impact but his 3.06 FIP and other underlying stats are encouraging for the Rangers -- who just made a massive move.
The Cardinals did, however, get a notable package in return for the duo. Roby is the biggest name coming back as the No. 11 prospect in the Rangers' system according to MLB Pipeline.
The 21-year-old is currently sidelined with a shoulder injury and has a 5.05 ERA with a 50-to-12 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .274 batting average against and 1.23 WHIP in 46 1/3 innings across 10 starts for Double-A Frisco. He's been hit around a little this season but still features great command and an electric four-pitch mix.
Saggese (No. 14 Rangers' prospect) has the most encouraging numbers of the trio coming to St. Louis, and likely will be the top-rated prospect in the deal once MLB Pipeline updates their rankings in August. The 21-year-old is hitting .314 with 40 extra-base hits including 15 home runs, 78 RBIs and a .894 OPS in 92 games for Double-A Frisco.
The new Cardinals infield prospect spent most of his time at second base and third base.
St. Louis also will get King, a 28-year-old veteran who could be a solid middle reliever for the Cardinals.
With Jack Flaherty still on the market and three starting pitching prospects already acquired between two deals Sunday on top of some other solid adds, the Cardinals are in a favorable position to prepare for 2024.
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