Phillies: Elniery Garcia traded to St. Louis Cardinals
By Matthew C
The Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals announced early Thursday morning they’ve made a deal.
The Phillies have traded pitching prospect Elniery Garcia to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for additional international pool slot money. Prior to the trade, the Phillies were ranked the lowest team with money for international signings in the league after losing $1 million in international money for signing Jake Arrieta and Carlos Santana.
This trade marks the first of what could be many trades the Phillies make before the trade deadline this season.
While the Phillies have not made any formal announcement, the St. Louis Cardinals did release a statement via their official Twitter account.
After being suspended last season for a PED violation, Garcia was struggling with Double-A Reading. In 10 appearances for the team, nine being starts, he posted a 6.38 ERA. He was reinstated from the restricted list in July of last year, but the team soon thereafter out-righted him off the 40-man roster in November.
Philadelphia seemed to give up on the left-handed starter after his PED violation. Now, the young pitcher gets to earn his second shot with the St. Louis Cardinals.
The 23-year-old starter has not made an appearance in the big leagues, and hasn’t pitched beyond Double-A. With the Cardinals, he is most likely to see time in their organization in Double-A.
After losing $1 million in international money for signing Santana and Arrieta, the team looks to rebound and sign more international free agents. The a little over $3 million they currently have didn’t stop them from signing #8 prospect Starlyn Castillo earlier this week.