ST. LOUIS, MO., July 30, 2023 – The St. Louis Cardinals announced this afternoon that they have acquired minor league right-handed pitcher Tekoah Roby, left-handed pitcher John King and infielder Thomas Saggese from the Texas Rangers in exchange for pitchers Jordan Montgomery and Chris Stratton and International Signing Bonus Pool space.
Roby, 21, was the Rangers 3rd round draft choice in 2020 out of Pine Forest High School in Pensacola, Fla. The 6-1, 185-pound Roby has made 10 starts for Frisco (AA) this season, going 2-3 with a 5.05 ERA and 50 strikeouts in 46.1 innings pitched.
King, 28, has four seasons of major league experience, all with the Rangers. He was 7-5 with a 3.52 ERA out of the bullpen in 27 games in 2021 and owns a career mark of 10-10, 4.27 ERA in 87 games, all in relief.
Saggese, 21, was the Rangers 5th round selection in the 2020 MLB Draft out of Carlsbad (Calif.) High School.
The 5-11, 175-pound right-handed hitting Saggese is batting .314 (6th in all of Double-A) with 15 HR’s, 78 RBI (3rd in AA) and a .894 OPS in 92 games for Frisco (AA) while playing second base, third base and shortstop.
Roby and Saggese will be assigned to the Springfield Cardinals (AA) club and King will report to St. Louis.
ST. LOUIS, MO., July 30, 2023 – The St. Louis Cardinals announced this afternoon that they have acquired minor league right-handed pitchers Sem Robberse and Adam Kloffenstein from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for right-handed reliever Jordan Hicks.
Robberse, who pitched in the MLB Futures Game earlier this month, is a 21-year-old from Zeist, Netherlands who was signed by the Blue Jays in July of 2019.
The 6-1, 185-pound righty has started 18 games this season for New Hampshire (AA), going 3-5 with a 4.06 ERA in 88.2 innings pitched while posting a 1.17 WHIP (10th in all of Double-A) and striking out 86.
Kloffenstein, 22, is a 6-5, 243-pound right-hander from Magnolia, Texas who was the Blue Jays 3rd round draft choice in 2018.
Kloffenstein (pronounced KLOF-ehn-steen) has made 17 starts this season for the Fisher Cats at New Hampshire, going 5-5 with a 3.24 ERA (6th in all of Double-A) in 89.0 innings of work. He’s struck out 105 this season and had one complete game effort.
Both Robberse and Kloffentstein will be assigned to the Memphis (AAA) roster.
Hicks, 26, was drafted by St. Louis in 2015 and was 1-6 with a 3.67 ERA and 8 saves this season in 40 games. He will become a free-agent following the 2023 season.
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