These days, it’s rare to see a team like the St. Louis Cardinals make a blockbuster trade, save for the moves to acquire Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado.
However, today marks the 12-year anniversary of an important trade the Cardinals made to strengthen their pitching staff.
Back in 2011, the Cardinals shipped outfielder Colby Rasmus to the Toronto Blue Jays along with pitchers Trever Miller, Brian Tallet, and P.J. Walters in exchange for Octavio Dotel, Marc Rzepczynski, Edwin Jackson, and Corey Patterson.
On Twitter, Bally Sports Midwest recalled the big trade St. Louis made with Toronto just four days prior to the deadline.
Twelve years ago today, the #STLCards made a trade that would prove to be crucial in their path to a World Series victory. pic.twitter.com/p7g74l79Fk
— Bally Sports Midwest (@BallySportsMW) July 27, 2023
At the time, some were questioning this move by then-General Manager John Mozeliak, as Rasmus was an outfielder with power and high upside.
However, Dotel and Rzepczynski became viable arms in the Cardinals bullpen, while Jackson helped fill a hole in the rotation that was created by Adam Wainwright’s elbow injury.
The departure of Rasmus also opened up more opportunities in the outfield for Jon Jay and Allen Craig, with Patterson being used as a solid depth piece.
Though the Cardinals went on a slide in August and fell out of postseason contention, the veteran pitchers played key roles in their September comeback as they erased a 10.5-game deficit in the Wild Card race to reach the postseason.
St. Louis would go on to win its 11th World Series title to cap off an incredible comeback, with the veteran pitchers also playing important roles in the team’s postseason run.
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