Jack Flaherty trade just keeps looking better for Cardinals in the playoffs

The St. Louis Cardinals traded Jack Flaherty to the Baltimore Orioles at the deadline. The O's viewed Flaherty as a decent middle-of-the-rotation upgrade for a potential playoff team. The more important factor was that Flaherty did not cost the O's any of their top prospects.

Baltimore received Flaherty in exchange for four players: INF César Prieto (Orioles' No. 16 prospect), LHP Drew Rom (Orioles' No. 18 prospect), and RHP Zack Showalter.

Rom made his Cardinals debut already to mixed reviews, and may receive an opportunity to compete for a rotation spot in spring training. His 8.02 suggests there's a lot to work on. Prieto, another prospect piece, hit .270 in Triple-A and could make the big-league team at some point next season.

Sure, it's not an amazing return, but it's a win considering what Flaherty has done for the Orioles so far this season, including the playoffs.

Jack Flaherty struggles for Orioles in postseason

In his two innings of work, Flaherty walked three batters and gave up a run. It wasn't the worst outing, but fans would expect better out of the bullpen from a pitchers who was supposed to be the Orioles' best trade deadline acquisition. Instead, he put unnecessary pressure on the infield and fanbase.

Who won the Jack Flaherty trade, Cardinals or Orioles?

For now, the Cards look like the winners of the Flaherty traded. St. Louis wasn't going anywhere this season, so they flipped half a year of mediocre Flaherty starts for some decent prospects. If those prospects work out, great. If not, the Cardinals didn't miss much in Flaherty, who had a 6.75 ERA in seven starts with Baltimore.

Flaherty did express some interest in re-signing with the Cards come free agency after he was traded. It's unclear exactly where Flaherty will go once this season is over, but plenty of O's fans are asking for more out of him.