St. Louis Cardinals: A closer look at the Oscar Mercado return

The St. Louis Cardinals were able to sneak in a deal right at the deadline a few days ago. They traded Oscar Mercado to the Indians, which was a little surprising.

Oscar Mercado was showing a lot of improvements offensively since being switched to the outfield. He was also a speed threat and very good defensively. The St. Louis Cardinals would have been able to utilize his skill set in some way in the future. Instead, he was traded for a pair of outfielders.

According to MLB Pipeline, this trade was essentially a wash. Mercado was number 10 on the Cardinals list, and Conner Capel was number 14 for the Indians. They took each others spot in their new organizations. Although, the Cardinals also got Jhon Torres, which might tilt the initial deal in their favor.

While I will never believe trading Mercado was the right move, the two players who came back to the organization are certainly intriguing.

Conner Capel

One thing to note about Capel is his bloodline. His father, Mike Capel pitched professionally for the Cubs, Brewers, and Astros in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Conner Capel is an outfielder, and a former fifth round selection of the Cleveland. This season he was hitting .261 for the Indians Advanced A affiliate. So far for Palm Springs, he is two for seven.

He slid right into Mercado’s spot on the St. Louis Cardinals top 30 prospect rankings. The 21 year old outfielder can play in any of the three spots, but profiles best in center. Capel boasts above average grades in four of five tools. He is slightly above average in power, speed, arm, and glove. All grade at 55. His contact tool is what lags behind with a 45 grade.

With him being in Advanced A, it gives the Cardinals time to clear out their outfield for Capel. If he can grow his power tool, he will have enough speed to pose a fairly unique threat. He is coming off of a season where he knocked 22 homers and stole 15 bases. This year, he already has 15 steals, but only six home runs.

Jhon Torres

To me, this is the most interesting piece. Torres is 18 years old and is also an outfielder. His 6’4″ 199 pound frame makes him very interesting. According to Joseph Clobitz of The Sports Daily, the height and weight are fairly new. That is also something to watch as his career progresses. He will need to learn to use his newfound physical tools to his advantage.

Torres played his first professional season in the Dominican Summer League in 2017. He hit five balls over the fence in 54 games, but did not show a whole lot else. This year, he is at the Rookie Level, where he hit .273 with four bombs in the Indians system. He’s off to a .500 start in six at bats for the Gulf Coast Cardinals.

If the St. Louis Cardinals can continue to work with him to harness his size, he could be a solid throw in. From year to year (yes, both of them) he has shown enough improvement to think he could become a decent prospect. Clearly the team saw something in him to pluck him out of the rookie ranks.

Even with all of this, I would rather have Mercado. But the St. Louis Cardinals did reel in some potentially interesting players. Both Capel and Torres have some upside, but are fairly unproven. Let’s hope that the team can pull out the potential they saw in them to make the trade.