St. Louis Cardinals Acquire Zach Duke

The St. Louis Cardinals have made a trade for the bullpen piece that has been a need for the team for quite a while.

Alert, alert the St. Louis Cardinals have made a trade. It’s not the big blockbuster trade that many fans have been dying for, but it is a trade for the bullpen piece that the Cardinals have been needing.

We all know that this team is all about making smart moves at the deadline, and another smart move has been made here. The St. Louis Cardinals have acquired Zach Duke from the Chicago White Sox, and Charlie Tilson is the player going back to the White Sox.

This is a perfect move for the St. Louis Cardinals. As it cost them a player who had no future with the major league team. It’s not that Tilson isn’t a good player, it’s just that the Cardinals have better outfield prospects that have passed him up.

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One of these players is Harrison Bader, who could very well play himself into a role of some sort with the major league club by September. Tilson simply hasn’t got the tools that Bader has or even that Jeremy Hazelbaker has.

So, this move for Zach Duke, the once promising Pittsburgh Pirates starter and turned reliever is a fantastic one. In 53 appearances this season, the left-handed reliever has an ERA of 2.63 and a 10.04 K/9. The only concern is that he does have a 3.82 BB/9.

Duke should be a fantastic addition to a bullpen who simply needs someone to come in the sixth/seventh innings and shut the door when the team needs it most. The Cardinals have needed this for some time.

Time will tell what Tilson winds up becoming in the White Sox organization, but it has been fairly certain that Tilson pretty much had no future with the Cardinals. As someone who likes to root for the White Sox on occasion, I will certainly keep my eye on Tilson as he attempts to make the Sox roster.

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Keep it locked in here for all of your news and analysis around the trade deadline for the Cardinals. This should be the only move the team makes, but John Mozeliak has surprised us before.