By Rob Rains
Chaim Bloom and the Cardinals went into this year’s trading deadline hoping to move players on expiring contracts and players they didn’t view as part of their long-term future for prospects.
That’s just what he did.
In two trades in his first year as the Cardinals’ president of baseball operations, Bloom flipped Dustin May and JoJo Romero, both set to be free agents this winter, to the Brewers for two young outfielders.
Romero is on the injured list after undergoing an appendectomy during the All-Star break but he should be recovered in time for the postseason, when the Brewers want him to potentially match up against key lefthanded batters.
Then about an hour before Monday’s deadline, Lars Nootbaar was called off the field at Yankee Stadium where he was preparing to start in left field and told he had been traded to the Diamondbacks for two young pitchers.
Nootbaar is under team control through next season, but his departure could open a spot in the Cardinals outfield for prospect Joshua Baez.
Bloom and the Cardinals also completed a third deal before the deadline, acquiring lefthanded reliever Caleb Ferguson from the Reds, He is expected to join the major-league roster. Ferguson was acquired for $250,000 in international bonus space.
In exchange for May and Romero, the Cardinals acquired two promising outfield prospects from the Brewers. In the deal that sent Nootbaar to the Diamondbacks – where he rejoins former Cardinal and his close friend Nolan Arenado – the Cardinals obtained righthanded pitcher Daniel Eagen, who was ranked as the No. 5 prospect in the Diamondbacks farm system by MLB Pipeline and lefthander Sandro Santana, 21, who was ranked as the No. 26 prospect in the organization.
In a deep Milwaukee farm system, Alexander Frias and Josiah Ragsdale were both top 13 prospects. Frias was ranked 11th by MLB Pipeline and Ragsdale 13th. Both should have similar rankings in the Cardinals’ organization.
The 18-year-old Frias, a lefthanded hitter, was signed as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic before the 2025 this season. He started this year in the rookie Arizona Complex League, then moved up to low A.
Combined between the two levels, Frias has posted a .342 average with eight homers, 62 RBIs and 19 stolen bases. Scouts have been impressed with both his raw power and bat-to-ball skills, believing he projects best as a corner outfielder.
Ragsdale, also a lefthanded hitter, is 22. He was selected in the seventh round of the 2025 draft out of Boston College and has split this season between high Class A and Double A. Combined between the two levels he has posted a .316 average with 21 doubles, 19 home runs, 51 RBIs and 31 stolen bases, Scouts believe he has the speed to stick in center field.
The trade of May opens a spot in the Cardinals’ rotation which could be filled by either Quinn Mathews or Hunter Dobbins. Dobbins was recalled from Memphis before Monday night’s game against the Yankees.
Eagen, 23, was Arizona’s third-round pick in the 2024 draft out of Presbyterian. He has spent this season at Double A Amarillo, where he has made 20 starts with 109 strikeouts in 87 1/3 innings.
Santana, a 21-year-old reliever, has been in the Arizona system since 2023. He wa Eagen’s teammate at Amarillo for part of this season. Combined with his time in high A, Santana has 70 strikeouts in 46 1/3 innings. The Cardinals also received a player to be named later.
One player who many expected to be dealt, reliever Ryne Stanek, stayed with the Cardinals.
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