MLB trade grades: Who won the Cardinals-Yankees Jordan Montgomery deal at the buzzer?

Just a few minutes before the trade deadline, the Cardinals and Yankees have made a trade involving MLB players

It was reported just a few minutes before the MLB Trade Deadline that the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Yankees have made a trade that involves major leaguers.

The Cardinals have traded center fielder Harrison Bader and a player to be named later to the Yankees for left-handed starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery.

MLB Trade Grades: Cardinals – B

As we mentioned in this article earlier on Tuesday, the St. Louis Cardinals desperately needed to address their starting rotation. José Quintana was a good start but they needed some more starting pitching depth.

Miles Mikolas and Adam Wainwright were their only starters that have been good and healthy on the season. Dakota Hudson and Steven Matz both have been largely injured and have pitched below league average (Hudson has a 94 ERA+ and Matz has a 68 ERA+).

In July, their starters had an ERA of 4.40, which was 23rd in baseball. With their ace Jack Flaherty on the 60-day IL, they needed more and Montgomery will help out a lot.

Montgomery, 29, leads the American League in starts with 21 and he has a 3.69 ERA. He has a 104 ERA+, a 3.91 FIP, and a 1.099 WHIP. He is also averaging 1.8 walks and 7.6 strikeouts per nine innings.

If the season ended today, the Cardinals would have to play in the National League Wild Card Series so they would need up to three starters in the series. Montgomery may or may not be one of those guys but he is a good middle to back-end starting rotation piece for them. He also is under team control through next season.

MLB Trade Grades: Yankees – C-

Harrison Bader is a great defensive player … when he’s healthy. But he’s not healthy. He’s on the injured list with plantar fasciitis. He last played in the majors on June 26.

He has played in 73 games and he has hit .256/.303/.370 with an OPS+ of 93 on the season. He is a good baserunner (15 stolen bases) and in the recent past, he was a good defender (Gold Glove winner and 15 Defensive Runs Saved in 2021).

But for now, the Yankees have not done well because they let starting pitching depth go for someone that’s injured. That’s not a great deal, at least to start off.