The St. Louis Cardinals have traded for Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Justin Masterson, according to Peter Gammons.
The Indians are trading Justin Masterson to the Cardinals
— Peter Gammons (@pgammo) July 30, 2014
Joel Sherman reports that outfielder James Ramsey could be going back to the Indians in the deal.
Masterson to #stlcards hearing that James Ramsey is going back to the #Indians
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) July 30, 2014
The important thing here is how this impacts the trade market in the NL Central. The Cardinals were looking at David Price and Jon Lester. Does this mean they’re out of that race? Or are they looking for multiple rotation pieces? I’d imagine we’ll get the answer to that question after the Masterson deal is announced. If this does take St. Louis out of the mix for Lester, then it might help the Pirates’ chances of acquiring him without giving up an unreasonable haul in prospects.
Masterson has struggled this year, with a 5.51 ERA, although his 4.05 xFIP suggests he should do better than what he’s done so far. He’s been great in previous years, and if he can do a 180 with the Cardinals, this would be a great pickup. Of course, if he continues to struggle, then it’s a move that won’t help them much.
Jerry Crasnick of ESPN had this interesting string of tweets earlier today about the Cardinals and their willingness to deal prospects.
One exec whose team talked to #rays Tuesday got a strong sense they won't be moving anybody significant at deadline.
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) July 30, 2014
Some people in MLB are skeptical that #stlcards GM John Mozeliak will dig too deep to add a marquee starter.
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) July 30, 2014
"From our dealings with Mo, they really like to hang onto their top prospects,'' said one club official. #stlcards
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) July 30, 2014
And an update…
The Masterson deal is in line with what people were saying: Mo wasn't going to go too crazy for Price or Lester. #stlcards
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) July 30, 2014
It seems that the Pirates aren’t the only team hesitant to part with top prospects for rentals.
UPDATE 2:26 PM: Ken Rosenthal says that it’s Masterson for Ramsey.
Confirmed: #STLCards get Justin Masterson for OF James Ramsey. First reported by @pgammo.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 30, 2014
To get an idea of a Pirates’ comparable, Ramsey was rated by Baseball America as a 50, with medium risk. That was the pre-season rank, so things could have changed. The Pirates didn’t have any 50 Mediums, so I’d say the closest fit would be a 55 High. That would be someone like Harold Ramirez. Josh Bell had that rating pre-season, but he’s clearly moved beyond that now.
UPDATE 2:41 PM: Jon Morosi says that the trade doesn’t necessarily take the Cardinals out of the race for Lester.
I'm told Masterson acquisition does not necessarily take Cardinals out of the Jon Lester sweepstakes.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 30, 2014
He also adds that they might have to give up Shelby Miller to get Lester.
Cardinals still could acquire Jon Lester, but that may require giving up Shelby Miller, who is currently in the rotation.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 30, 2014
I still think, based on the Crasnick tweets, that the Cardinals won’t deal for Lester.
