Grading each of the St. Louis Cardinals' trade deadline moves

Jordan Montgomery and Chris Stratton to the Texas Rangers

Rangers received: LHP Jordan Montgomery and RHP Chris Stratton

Cardinals received: RHP Tekoah Roby, INF Thomas Saggese, and LHP John King

A couple of things need to be addressed right off the top. The Cardinals traded away rental players. While Montgomery, Hicks, and Flaherty were some of the best rentals out there, they weren't superstars either, so the returns were going to be lighter than players with control.

The only way the Cardinals could receive real upside in a deal would be to package players together, which is what they were able to accomplish here.

The biggest name to watch here is RHP Tekoah Roby, who FanGraphs has ranked as the 64th-best prospect in all of baseball.

Roby boasts a plus fastball that sits in the mid-90s with rise, a fastball that can truly miss bats at every level. He also has a plus-plus curveball, with crazy vertical break, and tunnels well with that fastball. Roby truly has top-of-the-rotation potential.

Yes, you read that right. Roby has the potential to be at the top of the Cardinals' rotation some day.

The main reason the Cardinals were able to get their hands on him for rental players was the shoulder injury that has sidelined him since June. If the Cardinals were going to get this high upside of a prospect, there was going to have to be a level of risk involved, and this was the price they paid. But boy, if the shoulder injury is just a blip on the radar, the Cardinals may have gotten an absolute steal here.

If you had told me that the Cardinals got Roby and two throw-in prospects with him, I would've been a happy camper. Although John King fits the bill as a "throw-in", the Cardinals also snagged another player I really like in Thomas Saggese.

Compared to Brendan Donovan for the versatility he brings by John Mozeliak himself, Saggese brings an intriguing bat to the Cardinals' system while being able to play all four infield positions.

Saggese seems like a sure bet to be a valuable utility player at the next level, but if he continues to grind and improve as Donovan did, he could rise to that "super-utility" status that warrants consistent playing time.

I love this deal for the Cardinals. They went after upside with this deal, and I prefer gambles on potential high-end talent with where the club is at right now.

Grade: A