5 under-the-radar trade acquisitions for the St. Louis Cardinals at the deadline

RHP Kenley Jansen

When the Cardinals signed Phil Maton to a one-year deal this past offseason, they wanted him partially due to his experience in the postseason. He has a career 2.57 ERA in 28 innings in the postseason, and he was an essential piece of the 2021 and 2023 postseason runs for the Houston Astros.

Kenley Jansen is probably the only available reliever with more postseason experience than Maton.

Jansen has a 4.40 ERA this year, and he's struck out 26 batters in 28.2 innings so far. He has also recorded 15 saves as the Los Angeles Angels' de facto closer. Jansen certainly isn't the pitcher he once was now that he's 37 years old, but he's still a wily veteran who can help lead a young relief corps for the Cardinals down the stretch.

Acquiring Jansen would give the Cardinals another solid right-handed pitcher for late in games to both take some of the load off of Kyle Leahy while also providing depth behind Phil Maton and Ryan Helsley.

Kenley Jansen has pitched in 59 games in the postseason, and he was a member of the 2020 World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. He has a career 2.20 ERA in the postseason, and he's struck out 94 batters in only 65.1 playoff innings. He's a master in the postseason, and he would be a huge help to the team should they make it to the playoffs.

Since 2023, Jansen's cutter has lost some velocity to it, but it's right around his career average of 92.5 MPH. Batters are hitting just .211 against it this year with a .378 slugging percentage. His primary dropoff in effectiveness has come with his sinker. It has a .429 batting average against with a .714 slugging percentage. It's become a much flatter pitch with significant more run to it than in prior years, and hitters are teeing off against it.

Jansen signed a one-year, $10 million contract this past offseason, so he's a true rental pitcher. The price of relievers, especially veteran ones with proven track records, always rises at the deadline. Jansen won't fetch a huge package of prospects, but the Cardinals should be wary of getting into a bidding war with other clubs for his services.

The Angels haven't declared themselves sellers yet, but they're 8.5 games back of the Astros in the division and 2.5 games back of the final Wild Card spot. If they slip further down the standings, they could find themselves trading players on expiring contracts.