Cardinals deal Hicks and Montgomery, load up on prospects
ST. LOUIS — As tortured as he felt ripping aside a core piece of the Cardinals and buying and selling pitching, a much-needed space for the franchise, workforce president John Mozeliak did simply that on Sunday to guard the membership from potential free-agent defections and to restock the farm system with proficient arms.
And, as Mozeliak identified Sunday following the Cardinals’ 3-0 win over the Cubs, dealing away nearer Jordan Hicks, left-handed starter Jordan Montgomery and righty reliever Chris Stratton for 4 prospects and an MLB-ready pitcher, it might be simply be the beginning of the makeover of a Cardinals squad that fell nicely in need of expectations this season however won’t be too distant from competing for the playoffs once more in 2024. Pending free agent Jack Flaherty might be the subsequent to associate with gamers within the Cardinals’ crowded outfield forward of Tuesday’s Trade Deadline.
“This is a day that we were hoping would never happen in the sense of having to break up our club and having to focus on the future, but over the course of the last two weeks, we were really taking a hard look at what the Trade Deadline could do for us,” Mozeliak mentioned. “Obviously, this yr has not gone as deliberate, so we actually needed to give attention to what 2024 and past would appear like.
“We felt like the timing might be a bit unique for the St. Louis Cardinals, but we had to do this, and it’s not a happy moment. But we certainly are excited about the future [players] we were able to acquire today.”
In dealing Montgomery and Stratton to the Rangers, the Cardinals acquired right-handed pitcher Tekoah Roby, infielder Thomas Saggese and left-handed pitcher John King, who has pitched 127 1/3 Major League innings. Roby, who was the No. 11 prospect within the Rangers’ system, slots in because the Cardinals’ No. 4-ranked prospect, per MLB Pipeline. A 3rd-round draft choose in 2020, the 21-year-old Roby was 2-3 with a 5.05 ERA in 10 video games at Double-A Frisco this season earlier than struggling a shoulder harm.
“He’ll enter into our rehab program in Jupiter, [Fla.], but we do expect him to pitch this season competitively,” mentioned Mozeliak, who famous that Roby was slated to carry weights on Sunday and was asking for permission to play catch in Texas. “Obviously, we’ll know a lot more once we get our hands on him. But based on our medical reports, we believed in him and felt that he was in a good position to start throwing. So, we do hope to see him this year.”
Saggese, an infielder with positional versatility, strikes into the No. 8 slot within the Cardinals’ system.
When the Cards shipped the fire-balling Hicks to the Blue Jays, they received again right-handed pitchers Sem Robberse and Adam Kloffenstein. Robberse, a 21-year-old native of the Netherlands, was ranked because the No. 7 prospect within the Blue Jays’ system, and he’ll now slot in at No. 6 within the Cards’ system. In 18 video games this season with Double-A New Hampshire, Robberse was 3-5 with a 4.06 ERA and 86 strikeouts in 88 2/3 innings.
Kloffenstein, who’s now the No. 23-ranked prospect within the Cards’ system, has pitched in 17 video games with Double-A New Hampshire, going 5-5 with a 3.24 ERA. He had 105 strikeouts in 89 innings pitched.
Said Mozeliak of Robberse: “The fact that he’s so young and he’ll be able to go to Triple-A and will be knocking on the door to the big leagues is exciting.”
Hicks, who turns 27 on Sept. 6, admitted lately that he and his illustration had been attempting to work out a contract extension with the Cardinals, however they had been nicely conscious {that a} commerce may come if no settlement was reached.
This season, Hicks rebounded from a horrible begin to the season — one he partially attributed to getting extra aware of engaged on a pitch clock — and once more grew to become the workforce’s nearer when Ryan Helsley went down with a forearm harm. When Hicks notched his first save of the season in opposition to the Mets in June, it was his first save since 2019. Hicks was 1-6 with a 3.67 ERA and eight saves over 40 video games.
“With Hicks, we’ve seen him grow up and do a nice job and mature on and off the field,” supervisor Oliver Marmol mentioned. “He put together a pretty impressive season and got some big outs for us. We’re in a position where we needed to [make trades], but our hope is this isn’t the last time they’re wearing this [Cardinals] uniform.”
Montgomery, 30 and a free-agent-to-be within the offseason, got here to the Cardinals final August through the Yankees. The 6-foot-6 left-hander went 6-3 with a 3.11 ERA in 2022 with the Cardinals and was 6-9 this season after pitching in some powerful luck with a scarcity of run help. Montgomery, who spoke fondly of the friendships made in St. Louis, mentioned he will surely think about returning to the Cardinals this offseason when he hits free company.
“We would have just had to get the talks rolling, but we can always do it again in free agency,” Montgomery mentioned. “It’s a great organization [in St. Louis] and I’m not going to burn any bridges with great people. There’s always an opportunity [of returning to the Cardinals].”
