Cardinals Trade Flamethrowing Hurler To Blue Jays To Kickoff Firesale

St. Louis has made one of many upcoming moves

Scott Neville | Jul 21, 2023

Cardinals Trade Flamethrowing Hurler To Blue Jays To Kickoff Firesale /

In this story:

The St. Louis Cardinals officially are open for business with their first sell-off trade of the season as the deadline nears.

"The Cardinals have traded Genésis Cabrera to the (Toronto) Blue Jays in exchange for minor-league catching prospect Sammy Hernandez," The Athletic's Katie Woo reported Friday.

A trade involving Cabrera became imminent when the club decided to designate him for assignment Monday.

The 26-year-old has a 5.06 ERA with a 38-to-18 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .258 batting average against and a 1.56 WHIP in 32 innings this season but has been much more valuable in the past.

Cabrera entered the year with a career 3.95 ERA, 160-to-83 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .215 batting average against, 1.32 WHIP and 102 ERA+ in 157 1/3 innings across 142 games.

Given his age and the fact that he's under team control through the 2025 season, you'd expect the Cardinals to be able to receive a solid prospect in return. His trade value, however, dipped substantially when they designated him for assignment, as St. Louis lost all leverage.

The club was able to acquire catcher Sammy Hernandez from the Blue Jays, a 19-year-old 14th-round pick in the 2022 Major League Baseball Draft. The young backstop is hitting .200 with 14 extra-base hits, three home runs, 15 RBIs and a .612 OPS in 49 games between the Florida Complex League and Single-A since turning pro.

More MLB: Yankees Reportedly Targeting Switch-Hitting Cardinals Outfielder

Published Jul 21, 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