Cardinals, Blue Jays Make Notable Trade Involving Flamethrower

St. Louis have pivoted with the hard-throwing righty

Scott Neville | Jul 30, 2023

Cardinals, Blue Jays Make Notable Trade Involving Flamethrower /

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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.

More MLB: Cardinals Have Made Trade Decision On Nolan Arenado Amid Mixed Reports

Published Jul 30, 2023

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the St. Louis Cardinals for FanNation's "Inside The Cardinals" on Sports Illustrated. Before starting "Inside The Cardinals", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join FanNation and the Sports Illustrated Media Group as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." After a few months as the top Major League Baseball site in the program, Neville sought expansion and pitched "Inside The Cardinals," one of the newest additions to FanNation and the Sports Illustrated Media Group. The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Cardinals" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu