Cardinals trade for left-handed reliever Zach Duke

The St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday made a move to bolster their bullpen and add depth to their left-handed relief.

The team acquired pitcher Zach Duke from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for outfield prospect Charlie Tilson.

St. Louis will be the seventh stop on Duke’s 12-year major league career. The 33-year-old spent six seasons as a starter with the Pittsburgh Pirates, compiling a record of 45-70 with a 4.54 ERA. He was an All-Star in 2009, but finished that season with an National League-high 16 losses.

But Duke has been an effective relief pitcher the last three seasons. He leads the American League with 53 games and is 2-0 with a 2.63 ERA. He has struck out 42 batters in 37 2/3 innings, mostly as a late-game set-up man.

“The one area we needed to address was the bullpen,” Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said. “We were fortunate to get somebody of the caliber of Zach Duke. He will fit in ideally.”

Duke signed as a free agent with the White Sox in November 2014. The Cardinals will have him under contract through the 2017 season, during which he’ll be paid $5.5 million.

“I was not looking for a rental,” Mozeliak said.

Duke also has pitched for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Washington Nationals, Cincinnati Reds and Millwaukee Brewers. He embraced the move to St. Louis.

“It’s a great situation for me and my family,” he told the Associated Press. “It’s about the closest team to our home base in Nashville, and a great organization. The Cardinals are top-notch all the way, so it should be a good thing.”

Tilson, 23, was taken out of New Trier High School in upstate Winnetka by the Cardinals in the second round (79th overall) of the 2011 draft. Through 100 games in his first season at Class AAA Memphis, he was hitting .282 with four home runs and 34 RBIs.

Tilson was added to the Cardinals’ 40-man roster along with shortstop Aledmys Diaz in November, though he has yet to make his big-league debut.

The trade came a little more than 48 hours before the 3 p.m. Monday deadline.

The Cardinals made the move as they battle the Miami Marlins for the second NL wild-card spot. With 10 wins since the All-Star break, they have closed the gap on the Central Division-Leading Chicago Cubs to 6 1/2 games.

The Cubs strengthened their shaky bullpen last week in a trade with the New York Yankees to acquire closer Aroldis Chapman, a four-time all-star.

With a 3.30 bullpen ERA, the Cardinals’ relievers rank fourth in the NL and sixth in baseball. Tyler Lyons and Kevin Siegrist are the only left-handed relievers on the St. Louis roster.

The Cardinals will make to clear space for Duke on the 25-man roster.

This story was originally published July 31, 2016 at 11:49 AM with the headline "Cardinals trade for left-handed reliever Zach Duke."