As expected, the Cardinals sold off a few players; maybe a few less than I would have liked, but I’m not sure what the interest really was in some of the other players. You have to remember that other teams have to want a player to make a trade; so complaining that they dealt Noot while hanging on to Ryne Stanek really is worthless because no one might have asked about Stanek.
First, here are the releases from the Cardinals about the 3 deals they conducted. After that, I’ll give scouting reports and analysis on the deals.
ST. LOUIS, MO., August 3, 2026 – The St. Louis Cardinals announced today that the team has completed a trade deadline deal this afternoon acquiring a pair of outfield prospects Alexander Frias and Josiah Ragsdale from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for pitchers Dustin May and JoJo Romero.
Frias, 18, ranks as a Top 100 prospect by three different publications and the No. 8 prospect in the Brewers system per Baseball America. Ragsdale, 22, ranks as Milwaukee’s No. 22 prospect by Baseball America.
ALEXANDER FRIAS – OF
18 years old – born March 10, 2008 in Rio San Juan, Dominican Republic
JOSIAH RAGSDALE – OF
22 years old – born December 21, 2003 in Vineland, NJ
-STL-
ST. LOUIS, MO., August 3, 2026 – The St. Louis Cardinals announced today that the team has completed a trade deadline deal with Arizona, acquiring minor league prospects Daniel Eagen, Sandro Santana and a player to be named later in exchange for outfielder Lars Nootbaar.
Eagen, 23, is ranked by MLB Pipeline as Arizona’s No. 5 prospect and No. 13 by Baseball America. Santana, 21, is ranked by MLB Pipeline as Arizona’s No. 26 prospect.
DANIEL EAGEN – RHP
23 years old – born November 23, 2002 in Fuquay-Varina, NC
SANDRO SANTANA – LHP
21 years old – born March 7, 2005 in Barahona, Dominican Republic
-STL-
ST. LOUIS, MO., August 3, 2026 – The St. Louis Cardinals completed a trade with the Cincinnati Reds in advance of today’s trade deadline, acquiring left-handed relief pitcher Caleb Ferguson in exchange for International Cap Space.
Ferguson, 30, is a veteran of eight Major League seasons since debuting in 2018 with the Los Angeles Dodgers and he’s had prior postseason experience in 2018, 2023, 2024 and 2025.
The 6-3, 225-pound lefty has compiled a 25-17 career mark with a 3.69 ERA in 359 games for the Dodgers (2018-24), Yankees (2024), Astros (2024), Pirates (2025), Mariners (2025) and Reds (2026).
In 26 games with the Reds this season, Ferguson was 1-0 with a 4.01 ERA in 24.2 innings pitched after beginning the season on the Injured List due to an oblique strain.
The Columbus, Ohio native was 7-2 with a 3.49 ERA in 29 games as a rookie in 2018. He was 7-4 with a 3.43 ERA in 68 games pitched for the Dodgers in 2023.
Ferguson is expected to join the Cardinals Major League club in the coming days.
-STL-
I’m generally happy about what the team did; they traded 4 seasons of commitment (the remainder of 2026 for May, Romero, and Noot, plus all of 2027 for Noot) and $250k of international spending money for a potential 24 seasons of control in the 4 minor leaguers, the rest of 2026 of Ferguson, and whatever the player to be named later will bring.
Not only is the control of the prospects huge, but the ability of those players.
I’ll be referencing the 20-80 Scale:
Frias is the prize of the deadline. He’s the #42 prospect in baseball according to Fangraphs’ Pre-Deadline Rankings; that places him behind Rainiel Rodriguez (#23) and Liam Doyle (#27), and ahead of Jurrangelo Cijntje (#71).
[He would have been 3rd among Brewer’s prospects too. Right now, these 2 systems are pretty close in talent level, so this acquisition was keeping us in line with them.]
| Alexander Frias | |
| Tool | Grade |
|---|---|
| Hit | 45 |
| Power | 60 |
| Run | 55 |
| Field | 55 |
| Arm | 55 |
| Overall Future Value | 55 |
Frias has the highest upside of the guys acquired. He’s a projectable left-handed bat that has legit power. To get his full value, he needs to up the hit tool; if he’s even gets to league average contact, he’s a very good everyday player. The bat speed and power are currently there; he’s shown exit velocity in the upper 116 MPHs, an EV90 of 105.3, and a hard hit rate of 46.7.
The issue is his swing is pretty flat, with an average launch angle of 3 degrees. He’ll need to get that up so it’s not just hard hit ground balls. It’s fixable, as we’ve seen with Jordan Walker; Walker has had similar issues prior to this season, but a winter at Driveline fixed that.
Defensively, he can handle all 3 outfield positions, although his speed limits him from playing center on a regular basis. He’s got the arm and bat profile that’s perfect for right field.
He’s got a ceiling of a .260 hitter with 30 homers; the floor is a AAAA player that bounces between AAA and the Majors. He could be an Alec Burleson with higher upside; he could even reach Junior Caminero or Yordan Alvarez levels if he breaks out. He could also be another Tyler O’Neill if things don’t work out; that’s still a useful player.
While Frias is the prize of the trade, Ragsdale shouldn’t be ignored. In fact, his surface numbers look better than those of Frias and he’s further along in his development.
| Josiah Ragsdale | |
| Tool | Grade |
|---|---|
| Hit | 50 |
| Power | 50 |
| Run | 65 |
| Field | 60 |
| Arm | 50 |
| Overall Future Value | 55 |
Ragsdale has a better bat tool at this point, but he lacks the power that Frias has shown. That’s not to say he doesn’t have it; Ragsdale has the potential to be a 20/20 centerfielder. That is, if the power he’s shown this season is a step forward and not a blip. There are still concerns with strikeouts and platoon splits, but those are things he’s going to work on over the next 18 months.
His speed is plus, which translates into his defense; he’s fast enough to stick in center and be above average. That’s even with a below average arm. If he can’t stick in center, that power question becomes huge; he doesn’t have the arm for right, so he’ll need that proto-typical power of a left fielder to have value. Otherwise, he’ll make a great 4th outfielder.
He’s the safer prospect; the ceiling is much lower, but the floor is much higher. He’ll make the majors, but it’s a question if he’s a 4th outfielder or a starter in center. I’ve seen some Dylan Carlson comps for their minor league play, but that doesn’t instill much confidence. The realistic comp is TJ Friedl, the ceiling comp is Brenton Doyle, and the floor comp is Michael A. Taylor.
While the players acquired in the Nootbaar deal aren’t as sexy, they are still solid prospects.
Eagen is a solid right-handed starting pitcher that looks like a potential mid-rotation guy. He has 4 pitches, gets strikeouts, and has swing and miss stuff.
| Daniel Eagen | |
| Pitch | Grade |
|---|---|
| Fastball | 60 |
| Slider | 55 |
| Curveball | 50 |
| Changeup | 50 |
| Command | 45 |
| Overall Future Value | 50-55 |
The fastball sits 93-96, touching 98 in small stints; the pitch has strong carry and works the top of the strike zone. There is a lot of vertical break to the pitch. His slider is the next best pitch, sitting mid-80s with late movement; he gets a lot of swings and misses from righties with the pitch and is his out pitch. The curve and change are still being worked on; the curve has more vertical break than the slider and a much different shape, while the change flashes average against lefties but lacks consistency.
He has the frame for a starter; he’s tall with a downward angle on his pitches. He’s currently pretty durable, so innings eating is a realistic thing for him. He throws from a three-quarters slot.
The command is the biggest issue right now; he’s what is considerer a “stuff over results” pitcher at this point. Eagen struggles to hit his spots and often falls behind hitters, leading to a lot of damage. He needs to work on his pitch selection and efficiency to move to the next level.
His ceiling is a #3 starter; he could have a mid-3 ERA with 10+ K/9 over a full season in the rotation. The floor is a high leverage reliever throwing his fastball slider combo; he’d probably add a tick in velocity in small stints. The realistic spot is probably a #4-5 starter who get’s some strikeouts but also allows a bit of contact.
Comps include Joe Ryan for the high end and Dakota Hudson for the low end; the names of Michael Wacha and Ryan Helsley as potential comps have popped up. I’ve also seen Andre Pallante with more swing and misses or a Michael McGreevy with more missed bats but less command.
Finally, we get Santana, a lefty reliever who has taken a step forward this year by dominating Double A.
| Sandro Santana | |
| Pitch | Grade |
|---|---|
| Fastball | 55 |
| Breaking Ball | 60 |
| Changeup | 45 |
| Command | 50 |
| Overall Future Value | 50 |
There aren’t as many details on Santana’s pitches. His fastball sits low to mid 90s, topping out around 95; he has a deceptive delivery that plays up the velocity of the pitch. His breaking pitch looks more like a slider than a curve and there really aren’t reports on the velocity; it’s very effective against lefties though and goes generates swing and misses. The change is a work still, but it’ll need to be a little more effect to handle righties.
The increase in his prospect status comes more from improved command rather than stuff; he’s throwing quality strikes and avoids jams.
He’s going to be a reliever, there is no doubt there. The question is where will he fit in the bullpen structure: a high leverage guy or the back of the bullpen, mop up guy? Comps include Tim Hill for the floor and Aaron Bummer/Matt Strahm for ceiling; JoJo Romero and a better command version of Genesis Cabrera are a couple of mid-range comps, along with Jalen Beeks and Andrew Chafin. Andrew Miller is another potential comp, but that’s if everything breaks right for Santana (and don’t worry, that’s not the Cardinal version of Miller, but rather the Indians’ fireman from a few seasons earlier).
The Cardinals will also get a player to be named later; a lot of times, there is a list of guys they can choose from and they are waiting to see how they all progress before selecting one. Some times, the player is contingent on how the trade worked out of the other team; in this instance, if Nootbaar pushes the D’backs to the playoffs, then the prospect the Cardinals could get could be a better player. We don’t know at this point.
There is also Ferguson, but we should know what he is at this point: a journeyman lefty that should be able to step in for Romero. He’s more floor than ceiling. I’m just surprised the Cardinals gave up international bonus money for him since that’s been an area where Chaim Bloom has excelled in finding talent in the past. Maybe he’s not fond of the upcoming international market and felt the needs of now outweighed the needs of the future. Or he got enough talent from the Brewers and Diamondbacks that he could spare bonus pool.
Here’s to hoping that these guys turn out.
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