Cardinals trade away another relief pitcher in deadline deal
Just before what would turn out to be his last game in a St. Louis Cardinals uniform, Phil Maton sat perched in an armchair in the clubhouse watching names scroll by on the MLB Network.
A teammate asked if there had been anything exciting going on, and Maton described the rough contours of the trade which saw Ke’Bryan Hayes moved from Pittsburgh to Cincinnati.
There was no news involving Maton just yet, but he didn’t have long to wait. The righty reliever was traded by the Cardinals on Thursday to the Texas Rangers, just ahead of the 5 p.m. trade deadline, the team announced.
In return, St. Louis received two prospect pitchers – lefty starter Mason Molina, who is currently pitching for the High-A Hub City Spartanburgers, and righty Skylar Hales, a reliever at Triple-A Round Rock. The Cardinals also received $250,000 in international bonus slot money.
Molina, 22, was a seventh round draft pick of the Milwaukee Brewers in 2024 who was traded to Texas over the winter in exchange for Grant Anderson. His high strikeout rate – 92 in 74 innings spread across both levels of A-Ball – fits the mold of what the Cardinals have pursued in pitching prospects in recent years.
Hales, 23, was a fourth round pick of Texas in 2023. He’s posted a 7.64 ERA across 33 relief innings in Double-A and Triple-A this season, inflated in part by having allowed seven home runs in those innings. He has recorded five saves and 40 strikeouts.
Molina was ranked the 27th best Texas prospect by MLB Pipeline; Hales ranked 28th.
Maton, 32, was the team’s sole major league free agent signing last off-season, inking a one-year, $4 million deal in the midst of spring training. He quickly became one of the team’s most reliable relievers, putting up a legitimate push for his first career spot in the All-Star game.
The native of Chatham, Illinois, just outside of Springfield, posted a 2.35 ERA and 48 strikeouts over 40 appearances, showcasing top notch swing and miss skills as well as durability. His 1.2 wins above replacement, as calculated by Baseball Reference, tied him with Matthew Liberatore as the team’s seventh-most valuable player to date.
Maton becomes the third reliever traded by the Cardinals in the 24 hours leading up to the deadline, following Ryan Helsley (New York Mets) and Steven Matz (Boston Red Sox).
In moving that group, as well as starter Erick Fedde who was first designated for assignment and then traded to Atlanta, the Cardinals moved on from all four players in the system who were headed toward free agency this winter and did not have trade protection.
Conversely, unless a surprise deal is announced in the minutes following the deadline’s recent passing, the Cardinals moved no players with team control beyond this year at John Mozeliak’s final deadline as president of baseball operations.
It is the second time in three years the Cardinals have conducted a pure sale at the trade deadline, and in both years, one of their deals involved the Rangers. Jordan Montgomery and Chris Stratton were packaged to Texas in 2023 in exchange for John King, Tekoah Roby and Thomas Saggese.
As a result of the week’s moves, St. Louis now has four open spots on its 40-player roster and a need to fill three open active roster spots in its bullpen. Righties Ryan Fernandez, Andre Granillo and Roddery Muñoz have all spent time on the active roster this season, and would be obvious candidates to be promoted. The Cardinals may also scour the waiver wire for pickups, as teams making significant trade deadline additions will be undergoing their own roster adjustments.
This story was originally published July 31, 2025 at 5:13 PM.