15 best trades in St. Louis Cardinals history

#13 - Orlando Cepeda (1966)

Cardinals acquire: 1B Orlando Cepeda
Giants acquire: LHP Ray Sadecki

Total surplus fWAR: 2.6

The Cardinals have a rich history when it comes to first basemen, leading Orlando Cepeda to be criminally underrated amongst fans and Cardinals historians.

On May 8th, 1966, the Cardinals sent left-hander Ray Sadecki to the San Francisco Giants for Cepeda, who was a six-time All-Star for the Giants prior to being shipped to St. Louis. While Sadecki went on to be highly productive for the Giants, Mets, and six other teams (including a brief reunion with the Cardinals) over the rest of his career, Cepeda was a big bat for the Cardinals and then arguably provided his most value to the organization as another trade chip.

For the rest of the 1966 season, Cepeda posted a .303/.362/.469 with 17 home runs and 58 RBI in 123 games. But in 1967, things really boomed for Cepeda, posting a .325/.399/.524 slash line with 25 home runs and 111 RBI en route to a National League Most Valuable Player award, hitting in the middle of the 101-win Cardinals that season.

Surrounded by Lou Brock, Curt Flood, Tim McCarver, and Roger Maris in that ferocious lineup, the Cardinals were able to weather a bad World Series performance from Cepeda to take home the 1967 World Series title over the Boston Red Sox in seven games, their second World Series title of the 1960s.

Cepeda was basically a league average bat in 1968, but the Cardinals were still able to win 97 games and return to the World Series, this time falling at the hands of the Detroit Tigers despite a better performance from Cepeda in that series. That would be Cepeda's final year with the club, and in total, he achieved an MVP, World Series win, and another World Series appearance in just two and a half seasons with the Cardinals.

Had it not been for this next fact, Cepeda would have been lower on this list or not made it at all, but the Cardinals were able to flip Cepeda after the 1968 season for a future MVP in Joe Torre, which led to an even greater ripple effect of positive momentum for the Cardinals.

Cepeda ended up being inducted into the Hall of Fame for his incredible 17-year career, and his lone World Series victory and MVP award came as a member of the Cardinals. While it was a short stint with St. Louis, it was easily the best mini-stretch of Cepeda's historic career.