St. Louis Cardinals Acquire Brandon Moss From Cleveland
Hoping to maintain their lead over Pittsburgh throughout August and September, the St. Louis Cardinals have added Brandon Moss to their armada of hitting talent.
The news, first reported by St. Louis Post-Dispatch sports writer Bernie Miklasz, doesn’t shock many considering the Cards have needed right field strength behind Jason Heyward, which Moss can provide. In exchange, the Tribe will get LHP Rob Kaminsky. Moss is no stranger to trade deadline moves, having been involved with a three-team trade in July, 2008.
Moss, 31, isn’t known for consistent averages, but does provide the St. Louis Cardinals home run pop. His career began in 2007 with Boston, playing in small roles until his trade to Pittsburgh in 2008. After three seasons with the Bucs, he was briefly used in Philadelphia before heading to Oakland, where he found his power stroke. In three seasons with the A’s, he belted 76 homers and knocked home 220. His average went down in Cleveland, but still has his home run pop (15 HR, 50 RBIs in 2015). Moss can also provide the Cardinals with 1B help needed after losing Matt Holiday last night to injury, and having already lost Matt Adams previously.
In Rob Kaminsky, Cleveland gets their much-needed starting pitcher of the future. In three minor league seasons, the 20-year-old has gone 14-10 with a sparkling 2.15 ERA, striking out 186 in just over 217 innings of work. He’s currently in Palm Beach of the Florida State League, and would report to the Tribe immediately.
Rumors of Cleveland’s interest in moving Moss materialized overnight, with the Cardinals appearing the most likely candidate. Having already moved David Murphy and receiving interest in Carlos Carrasco, Carlos Santana, and Danny Salazar, it’s evident rebuilding more is in full swing. Several teams have expressed their interest in Carrasco, but no deals have been discussed or are trending.
The Cardinals are currently nursing a 4-and-a-half game lead over Pittsburgh, who hasn’t indicated whether they’d add pitching help during the trade deadline. Pitching has been solid for St. Louis, although they’re believed to be seeking an additional starter. Names may include Tyson Ross, Andrew Cashner, or Carrasco. The Cards are currently 19th in run production (397) and 12th in average (.254), but lead the majors in most pitching categories. If they hope to add more pitching, they’d better act soon, since the market is drying up quick.
Pittsburgh and St. Louis play nine more games together, six of which are at Busch Stadium.
[Photo by Jared Wickerham / Getty Images Sport]
