Complete Cardinals trade deadline grades after Chaim Bloom swings multiple deals in final hours

That's a wrap! The St. Louis Cardinals waited till the final hours of the MLB Trade Deadline to make their moves, trading away Dustin May, JoJo Romero, and Lars Nootbaar for very interesting returns. They even bought, acquiring left-handed reliever Caleb Ferguson as well!

It was a jam-packed day for the Cardinals all in all, and now it's time for us to take a look at each of the deals they made. And spoiler alert: one of the trades they made looks to be insane value!

Complete grades for Cardinals trade deadline as Chaim Bloom sells of prized assets

Aug. 3: Cardinals trade Dustin May and JoJo Romero to the Milwaukee Brewers for prospects OF Alexander Frias and OF Josiah Ragsdale. GRADE: A++

Oh. My. Gosh. What a return the Cardinals got here!

Both Alexander Frias and Josiah Ragsdale are very well-regarded prospects within the industry, and depending on the outlet you look at, one or both are seen as top 100 prospects. The Cardinals got both of them in return for two rental arms.

Frias, who MLB Pipeline already has slated as the Cardinals' number four prospect between Joshua Baez and Tanner Franklin, has true plus power and a plus arm as a left-handed corner outfield bat. At just 18 years old, he has so much potential and has already posted both eye-popping numbers and underlying metrics at the Low-A level.

Ragsdale, who Pipeline now has as the Cardinals 10th-ranked prospect between Jurrangelo Cijntje and Yhoiker Fajardo, is a 22-year-old center fielder who has increased his power output this year after already boasting elite speed and defense. If he hits one more home run, he'll have 20+ doubles, 20+ home runs, and 30+ stolen bases between High-A and Double-A this year.

Coming into the deadline, I thought there was no chance the Cardinals would get even one prospect like Ragsdale or Frias for May. May has had a good year for St. Louis, but he's a rental arm with past injury concerns, and these are really, really good prospects. This is incredible value to get by Bloom for May and Romero.

Aug. 3: Cardinals trade Lars Nootbaar to the Arizona Diamondbacks for prospects RHP Daniel Eagen, LHP Sandro Santana and a player to be named later. GRADE: B

The end of an era. Lars Nootbaar rejoins his best friend Nolan Arenado in Arizona, but the Cardinals get a really solid return from the Diamondbacks.

Daniel Eagen is the Diamondbacks' fifth-ranked prospect according to MLB Pipeline and was drafted in the third round of the 2024 MLB Draft. He boasts a plus curveball to go with an above-average fastball and slider. He has the kind of repertoire to develop into a starter at the big league level.

Sandro Santana is a dynamite relief prospect with a true 70-grade slider, a weapon that can make him a nasty bullpen option for a long time. Santana also has an above-average fastball, and he's been striking out the world

This also clears the way for Joshua Baez, who may debut here in the next few weeks.

Aug. 3: Cardinals trade $250,000 of international bonus pool money to the Cincinnati Reds for LHP Caleb Ferguson. GRADE: C

This was a surprise move!

The Cardinals backfilled their left-handed relief options after trading Romero by adding Caleb Ferguson from the Cincinnati Reds. Ferguson has been fine this year, posting a 4.02 ERA in 26 appearances, but holds a 3.69 ERA over his eight big league seasons.

The Cardinals are going to need innings down the stretch, so adding a veteran for a small price did make some sense. They are technically still in contention, so this gives the clubhouse at least a small vote of confidence ahead of the remainder of the season.

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