Rangers acquire Montgomery, Stratton from Cardinals

MLB Trade Rumors: The Texas Rangers have acquired pitchers Jordan Montgomery and Chris Stratton from the St. Louis Cardinals, according to Jeff Passan on Twitter. To land the pair, the Rangers are giving up AA infielder Thomas Saggese, AA pitcher T.K. Roby and AAA pitcher John King.

Montgomery and Stratton are both free agent after the 2023 season. Montgomery, 30, is a lefthander who has a 3.42 ERA, 3.76 FIP and 4.28 xERA in 121 innings over 21 starts this year. Since the start of the 2021 season he has a 3.59 ERA and 3.68 FIP over 83 starts. Montgomery is a nice, solid, reliable #3 starter, and solid and reliable and things the Rangers need from their starting pitchers right now.

Stratton, 32, is a righthanded reliever who has a 4.36 ERA, 3.06 FIP and 3.89 xERA this year.

The price of the pair is not insignificant. Roby and Saggese were part of the Rangers’ 2020 draft class, with Roby being selected in the third round and Saggese in the fifth round. Saggese seems to fit as a Cardinal sort of player, a guy who can hit but who doesn’t have a definitive defensive home. Roby has shown flashes during his time with Texas, and could be a really good starting pitcher, but has also had problems staying healthy.

King is a success story, a senior sign who got $10,000 coming out of the University of Houston, but who developed into a major leaguer. He had a great start to the 2021 season, and initially was part of the Joey Gallo trade in 2021 before medical concerns resulted in his being pulled from the deal. He had thoracic outlet surgery, and since then, has struggled to get back to where he was in 2021. The past two years he’s bounced up and down between AAA and the majors.

UPDATE — It is official. The Rangers get Montgomery, Stratton and international bonus money from the Cardinals for Saggese, Roby and King. Joe Barlow has been designated for assignment to create a 40 man roster spot.