The St. Louis Cardinals acquired pitcher Riley O’Brien in an early offseason trade from the Seattle Mariners.
The Seattle Mariners have struck a deal with the St. Louis Cardinals in the early stages of the offseason.
On social media, Cardinals reporter Derrick Goold stated:
In a deal with the #Mariners, the #stlcards acquired RHP Riley O’Brien.
The 28-year reliever, a PCL All-Star, recorded 86 strikeouts and a 2.29 ERA in 55 innings for the Mariners’ Class AAA squad. He was scheduled to be a minor-league free agent.
There is no announcement on the Mariners’ return at this time, although it is likely to be cash or a player to be named later.
According to MLB.com, O’Brien was not ranked among the top 30 Mariners prospects. The Tampa Bay Rays picked the Seattle-area native out of the University of Idaho in the 2017 draught.
He was 2-5 with a 2.29 ERA last season. In those 55.0 innings, he struck out 86 batters. Given that the Cardinals finished last in the National League Central in 2023, it’s easy to see why they’d want him.
They simply need to take risks on guys and see who sticks as they seek to rebuild the roster. For the Mariners, it may be as simple as receiving something for him vs losing him for nothing, but a player with that kind of performance and “stuff” is difficult to let go of.
When the formal return arrives, we’ll be able to better appraise the deal. The Mariners finished 88-74 last season, good for third place in the deep American League West.
