Blue Jays & Cardinals Swing Trade

Toronto Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins has said his team will be active at the trade deadline, and today made his first move, acquiring five-year veteran reliever Genesis Cabrera from the St. Louis Cardinals.

The #STLCards have traded Genésis Cabrera to the Blue Jays in exchange for minor-league catching prospect Sammy Hernandez. Cabrera was DFA’d by St. Louis on Monday.

— Katie Woo (@katiejwoo) July 21, 2023

Cabrera was DFA'd by the Cardinals on Monday despite some trade interest around the league. Today they were able to pull off a deal with the Blue Jays that landed them minor-league catching prospect Sammy Hernandez.

This adds another much-needed left-hander to the Toronto bullpen, although the 26-year-old has not had an impressive season, with a 5.06 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP in 32 appearances. He does bring some heat, however, striking out 10.7 batters per nine innings. 

Cabrera has spent his entire 5-year career in St. Louis, where he'd proven himself fairly tough to hit in the past. In 2021, he held batters to a .209 average in 70 innings. 

This season, however, he's allowing some pretty hard contact, as he's only in the 22nd percentile across baseball in hard hit percentage allowed, and in average exit velocity. 

In his career, he has a 4.14 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. 

Photo: Peter van den Berg-USA TODAY Sports