ST. LOUIS- The St. Louis Cardinals were expected to have a very active trade deadline. They began the day trading away SS Paul DeJong to the Toronto Blue Jays. Now SP Jack Flaherty is on the move, the the right-hander being traded to the Baltimore Orioles, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.
Cuban INF Cesar Prieto, LHP Drew Rom and RHP Zack Showalter will be the three players that will be the return for Flaherty from the Orioles. The Orioles made the trade official Tuesday evening.
Flaherty, was one of the few Cardinals players who was widely expected to be moved. With an expiring contract and free agency on the horizon, Flaherty future was all-but set heading into Tuesday's trade deadline.
The right-handed pitcher was not having a superb season, with Flaherty only overall numbers of a 4.45 ERA, three points below the league-average ERA, and K/9 of 8.7 in 109.2 innings.
However, the market for Flaherty was quite high with the need for starting pitching was among a big need with a majority of teams in the postseason hunt.
Flaherty will go to an Orioles staff that hasn't been quite strong. Only two starters on the Orioles staff, RHP Kyle Bradish and RHP Tyler Wells, had an ERA under 3.8. Wells was most recently optioned to the minors to Double-A. Flaherty will immediately give veteran experience to a pitching staff that only had LHP Kyle Gibson as a veteran previously.
The Cardinals continue their search to add more pitching to the team, acquiring Rom from the Orioles. Rom, however, has struggled immensely in Triple-A, posting a 5.34 ERA in 86 innings.
However, the former fourth-round draft pick has been a bit unlucky in the minors, with the 23-year-old posting a FIP of 4.21 and a solid 25.1 strikeout%
Prieto, like Rom, was also in the Orioles Triple-A affiliate. The Orioles then 16th-ranked prospect has had a solid season in the minors, posting an overall .349/.393/.475 slash line in 2023 while only hitting two home runs.
According to MLB Pipeline, Prieto bat-to-ball skills is very similar to Cubs second baseman Nick Madrigal.
Showalter, no relation to former Orioles manager Buck Showalter, most recently pitched in Low-A Delmarva, with the 19-year-old posting a 3.10 ERA in 20 innings with a 12.2 K/9.