Cardinals-Orioles Jack Flaherty Swap Is Looking Worse With Time

The St. Louis Cardinals had one of the team's worse seasons in recent memory back in 2023.

In 2022, the Cardinals were great and one of the most fun stories in baseball. That year, the Cardinals went 93-69 and had all of the good public relations that Albert Pujols' chase for 700 homers brought. Then, the Cardinals crashed and burned in 2023. That year, the Cardinals finished in last place in the National League Central and went 71-91. An absolutely brutal season that kicked off a three-year difficult run. The 2026 season is technically still in this rebuild period, but it has been a blast so far.

Back to the 2023 season, though. That year, the Cardinals were major sellers ahead of the trade deadline and dealt guys away, like Jordan Montgomery, Jack Flaherty and Jordan Hicks, among others. When it comes to the Flaherty deal, it looks like a whiff from both sides. The Cardinals traded Flaherty, who was set to enter free agency after the season, to Baltimore in exchange for infielder César Prieto, left-handed pitcher Drew Rom, and right-handed pitcher Zack Showalter.

The Cardinals And Orioles Both Lost The Jack Flaherty Deal

Detroit Tigers pitcher Jack Flaherty (9) walks off the field for pitching change against Texas Rangers during the fourth inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Friday, May 1, 2026. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Flaherty pitched in nine games for Baltimore and had a 6.75 ERA in 34 2/3 innings pitched. Not great. But things aren't much better for the Cardinals. St. Louis has Prieto in the majors right now as a bench piece after putting up good numbers down in Triple-A. That's a positive. On the negative side, the Cardinals cut ties with Showalter on Tuesday, per Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat.

"Cardinals have released Zack Showalter, one of the three players they received from Baltimore in the Jack Flaherty trade," Jones wrote. "César Prieto is the last remaining piece from that deal; the other was Drew Rom."

Rom is in the Milwaukee Brewers' farm system right now and Showalter is now a free agent after getting cut. Fortunately, the Cardinals still have Prieto, but this deal certainly wasn't a home run for St. Louis. The Cardinals traded an intriguing, young starter — at the time — and got three prospects in return. Now, two of the three prospects are gone and the other is a bench piece. The Orioles also didn't get much from the deal. All in all, this is the exact type of deal that has aged poorly and is a lose-lose for both sides.

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