Phillies trade Juan Nicasio for Cardinals #10 prospect
Juan Nicasio, Phillies fans hardly knew ye
Reliever Juan Nicasio has been traded by the Phillies six days after the team claimed him off waivers to the St. Louis Cardinals.
St. Louis will send Double-A infield prospect Eliezer Alvarez back for the 31-year-old reliever. Alvarez, rated by Baseball America as the Cardinals 10th-best prospect and 19th by MLB.com, hit .247 with 16 extra-base hits for Double-A Springfield this year.
His speed carried him last season, highlighted by 36 stolen bases in Single-A Peoria.
Nicasio pitched 1.1 perfect innings out of the bullpen in Philadelphia after the team claimed him from the Pittsburgh Pirates. St. Louis won’t be able to use him in the post-season because they acquired him after the August 31st waiver trade deadline.
It’s a potentially strong return for a player Philadelphia had for six days going to a team that can only use him for a couple of weeks. Alvarez turns 23 in October and could start in the middle infield for Reading next season.
The #Pirates, who wanted to keep Nicasio from the #Stlcards in the first place, now watch Cards get him anyways, and will face them this wkd
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) September 6, 2017
With J.P. Crawford moving to the majors and Scott Kingery likely to join him soon, the franchise’s middle infield prospects are questionable in the lower-levels of the system. Malquin Canelo, the organization’s 21st-rated prospect, hit just .226 with Reading this season. He’ll fill in for Crawford from a defensive standpoint in the IronPigs post-season run.
Next: Phillies have playing time logjam in September
Daniel Brito and Cole Stobbe are the only other heralded infield prospects in the system, and both play in either full or short-season Single-A ball. Alvarez gives the organization more depth and speed with players beginning to advance through the organization.