Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals Trade Former All-Star Shortstop To Blue Jays As Fire Sale Continues

St. Louis continues to ship off rentals to bolster the farm system

Scott Neville

Cardinals Trade Former All-Star Shortstop To Blue Jays As Fire Sale Continues
Cardinals Trade Former All-Star Shortstop To Blue Jays As Fire Sale Continues /
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Stop me if you've heard this before, the St. Louis Cardinals have made a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays.

For the third time in the last couple of weeks, the Blue Jays are reaping the rewards of the Cardinals fire sale. Génesis Cabrera and Jordan Hicks are two of Toronto's top relievers and they've now added a bat from St. Louis.

"Blue Jays and Cardinals are close to finalizing the Paul DeJong trade," MLB Network's Jon Morosi tweeted Tuesday.

DeJong is hitting .233 with 24 extra-base hits including 13 home runs, 32 RBIs and a .710 OPS in 81 games this season. He also happens to rank in the 97th percentile for out above average, mainly at shortstop.

The move was likely made in large part due to Bo Bichette's knee injury, the severity of which is unknown.

It is not yet known what the Cardinals will be getting back for DeJong, but unlike in previous deals made this week, fans should not expect a prospect that cracks their top 30. 

St. Louis still has Jack Flaherty in the chamber and could make a major splash with some controllable bats in exchange for pitching.

UPDATE: The Cardinals will receive right-hander Matt Svanson. The 24-year-old is not a top prospect but has a ridiculous 1.11 ERA with a 39-to-11 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .167 batting average against and 0.93 WHIP between Low-A and High-A this season. That appears to be toward the best possible acquisition St. Louis could have received for DeJong.

More MLB: Cardinals Reportedly Entertaining Offers For Brendan Donovan, Tommy Edman

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Scott Neville
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