A Cardinals-Diamondbacks trade to bring Jordan Montgomery home

The St. Louis Cardinals pitching rotation could use a bit of help, mainly in depth. They have a few talented arms, namely Sonny Gray, but they don't have the depth to take over a series with their rotation.

The trade market is destined to be riddled with pitchers this trade deadline season. One of which is an old friend of the Cardinals, Jordan Montgomery of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Montgomery pitched for St. Louis in 2022 and 2023 before being moved to the Texas Rangers and winning a World Series last season. The southpaw has been pretty solid over the course of his big league career, but has looked much worse this year. Still, he would draw a big package of prospects in return if the Cardinals looked to acquire him.

A Diamondbacks-Cardinals trade to send Jordan Montgomery back to St. Louis

Montgomery hasn't been a world beater in 2024. He currently boasts a negative WAR and an ERA of 5.48. But just last season, he was tossing shutout outings for the World Series winning Texas Rangers. His talent is much better than his current production and the Cardinals known that. So do the Diamondbacks.

For this trade to make sense, the Diamondbacks will likely have to eat up some of the lefty's contract. They would send cash to whichever team they opt to trade him to.

In this instance, the Cardinals are receiving Montgomery and cash while the Diamondbacks get the Cardinals eighth and 13th ranked prospects, two right-handed pitchers, per MLB Pipeline.

Gordon Graceffo, the Cardinals eighth-ranked prospect, headlines the deal. He features a power fastball, with velocity as high as 99 MPH and a wipeout slider. MLB Pipeline grades his slider as a 60-grade pitch on their 20-80 scale. He has true MLB potential if he can continue developing his arsenal.

Rajcic, the team's 13th ranked prospect, has struggled a bit this year, but his ability is still there. He has a more developed arsenal as a whole, led by his curveball and changeup. He's a longer term project though, one that Arizona would be willing to develop.

The Cardinals would be better with Jordan Montgomery back in St. Louis. While he hasn't been the best pitcher in 2024, his talent is still there. When he turns the corner and pitches like the World Series winner from last year, the Cardinals will be very thankful they made this deal happen.