Cardinals acquire Brandon Moss from Indians after Matt Holliday injury
It didn’t take long for the St. Louis Cardinals to strike a deal for outfield depth after Matt Holliday reinjured his right quad Wednesday night.
The Cardinals are bringing in Brandon Moss from the Cleveland Indians and sending back top pitching prospect Rob Kaminsky. SN Nation’s Chris Cotillo first reported St. Louis’ interest in Moss and the trade details were confirmed Thursday morning by MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian.
Moss, 31, has struggled at the plate this season, hitting just .217/.288/.407 in 94 games. However, the Cardinals are hoping he can recapture the form he found in Oakland where he hit .254/.340/.504 between 2012 and 2014. He’ll likely see time in the outfield and at first base, where Mark Reynolds has been playing in place of the injured Matt Adams. At the very least, he can be an impact bat off the bench with home run power, having hit 15 this season with Cleveland. Moss is eligible for arbitration this offseason and will become a free agent following the 2016 season.
[Friday Daily Fantasy contest: Turn $5 into $5K]
The Indians have to be happy with what they’re receiving. Kaminsky was selected in the first round of the 2013 draft by St. Louis, and we know the track record the Cardinals have when it comes to picking pitchers. The 20-year-old left-hander has a 2.15 ERA in 217 1/3 minor league innings and has spent the 2015 season in the Florida State League.
On the Holliday front, he already missed over a month earlier this year with a similar injury and is expected to be sidelined for multiple weeks again. He’s scheduled to undergo an MRI on Thursday to assess the severity of the damage.
Coming off Wednesday’s trade madness, it’s nice to have a simple one-for-one swap to work with. The Cardinals get another bat as they gear up for another run in October, while the Indians add a fine young pitcher to the fold and continue building for the future as they sit in last place in the AL Central.
More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:
– – – – – – –
Israel Fehr is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr
