St. Louis Cardinals trade outfielder Harrison Bader, receive pitching help in return
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include remarks from St. Louis Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak.
The St. Louis Cardinals approached Tuesday’s trade deadline with a shockwave, trading center fielder Harrison Bader to the New York Yankees in exchange for left-handed starter Jordan Montgomery.
In pivoting away from a deal for superstar outfielder Juan Soto, who was traded from Washington to the San Diego Padres, the Cardinals instead set out to drastically remake their rotation. Montgomery is the second lefty added to that group in the last two days, joining José Quintana, who was acquired from Pittsburgh.
“We went into this trying to be eyes wide open, understanding that there are lots of things that could possibly happen,” president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said. “I don’t think you want to hear what we’re potentially close to or what we explored, but it was a really busy few days for us.”
Montgomery, 29, has made an American League-leading 21 starts for the Yankees this season, posting a 3.69 ERA in his third full Major League season, each of which has seen him post an ERA under 4.
Bader, 28, is a New York native who is the defending National League Gold Glove winner in center field. Sidelined since the last week of June with plantar fasciitis in his left foot, Bader is hitting .256 with a .673 OPS.
“First off, I know he’s a really good guy,” Mozeliak said of Montgomery. “For us, it’s about a guy that can move the ball, spin the ball, get ground balls. We just feel like at the end of the day, he fits perfectly into what we’re trying to accomplish.”
“Pretty shocked,” an emotional Montgomery told reporters in New York, still clad in Yankees workout gear. “Still setting in, I guess.”
He added, “This is my family. This is all I know. I’ve been playing with the same guys for years.”
Out for Sosa, reaffirmation for Carlson
The Cardinals received word late Monday night they were out of the bidding for Soto, Mozeliak confirmed. He disputed media reports Dylan Carlson, now cemented in the team’s plans in centerfield, represented a hangup in a potential trade with the Nationals, saying instead that there were multiple variables which precluded St. Louis’s acquisition of Soto.
“There were many names that were potentially a part of this,” Mozeliak said. “I don’t think we should focus on him, because that was by no means why we didn’t get this deal done.”
Indeed, Mozeliak met with Carlson while the club was in Washington this weekend to reaffirm their commitment to him and to reassure him there were no plans for Carlson to be traded.
Now, with Bader a Yankee, Carlson won’t have to move even as far as right field. Mozeliak did say there’s some concern any time a player suffers an injury in their lower extremities, but that he’s confident Bader will recover fully and return to form.
Other St. Louis moves
The Cardinals also completed two other minor trades, sending catcher Austin Romine, who had been designated for assignment, to the Cincinnati Reds for cash considerations. Minor league catcher Austin Allen, a St. Louis native, was acquired from Oakland in exchange for minor league pitcher Carlos Guarate.
“I think we improved our chances of winning the division,” Mozeliak said. “More consistency with our rotation, obviously we’ve got two months to play. Having starters that we can definitely trust to take us deeper, it’s also going to allow someone to slip back into the bullpen.”
He declined to comment on whether Andre Pallante would be that pitcher, saying he hadn’t yet discussed the possibility with manager Oli Marmol. Pallante, who started the year in a relief role, would slide seamlessly into that position. Dakota Hudson, who has had uneven results sandwiched around a short start on the injured list, would also be a candidate to return to the relief role in which he first broke into the majors.
Potential World Series club?
Asked if he was confident the club had acquired two starters they would be comfortable starting in a postseason game, Mozeliak did not hesitate to say yes. Without being comfortably able to send shockwaves through their lineup, the club made a pivot to rebuild their rotation on the fly, and, in doing so, set expectations higher than last summer’s additions which were designed merely to get through the season.
“I don’t think anybody’s going to claim they built a World Series club today,” he said when asked if the Cardinals had done everything they could to build a championship team. “If we get hot, we can play with anybody.”
This story was originally published August 2, 2022 at 5:26 PM.