Categories: Baseball

Cardinals Acquire Jordan Montgomery; Jordan Walker Moves to Outfield

CARDINALS ACQUIRE JORDAN MONTGOMERY; REDBIRDS SEND HARRISON BADER TO YANKEES IN TRADE DEADLINE DEAL

ST. LOUIS, MO., August 2, 2022 – The St. Louis Cardinals announced today that they have acquired left-handed pitcher Jordan Montgomery from New York Yankees in exchange for outfielder Harrison Bader.

Montgomery, 29, has gone 3-3 with a 3.68 ERA in 21 starts this season and owns a career 22-20 mark with a 3.94 ERA in 98 games, all with the Yankees.

The 6-6, 228-pound South Carolina native is ranked 9^th in the American League with a 1.09 WHIP, walking just 1.8 batters per 9 IP, ranking 7^th in the AL.

The Cardinals added four pitchers this past week in deals that brought Montgomery, Jose Quintana, Chris Stratton and JoJo Romero to the organization.

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This statement from the Cardinals does not address the conditional aspect of the trade; there is a player to be named later if Bader does not play again this season. The Cardinals and Yankees have agreed to a list of minor leaguers that the Yankees will be able to pick from.

It’s also worth noting that the Springfield Cardinals have Jordan Walker starting in left field tonight; it’ll be his first career game in the outfield. Could the Cardinals be fast tracking their #1 prospect after missing out on Juan Soto?

It appears the Cardinals might not use Lars Nootbaar and Corey Dickerson as their starting right fielder for long.

As far as the transaction goes, I like Montgomery and was surprised by the deal. He’s not Pablo Lopez, Luis Castillo, or Carlos Rodon, but he’s a guy that doesn’t generate hard contact and limits his walks. He’s been good this season and he’s under team control for next season.

While the team will miss Bader, Dylan Carlson has proved he can handle centerfield almost as well as Bader. It shows the faith the front office has in Carlson. Bader was too streaky and injury prone to be relied on, especially lining up next to Tyler O’Neill who almost has that same profile; it’s hard to keep relying on both.