Nick Raquet, who once retired from baseball before clawing his way back through the Independent League and the Minor Leagues, was traded to the Orioles for outfielder Brayden Smith. Raquet made his MLB debut with the Cards last September.
Nick Raquet’s unusual, but inspiring road to the big leagues – one that was interrupted by a brief retirement and a job in finance that he despised – came with a Cardinals club that promoted him in 2025.
His future and his bid to get back to MLB, however, will be with the Orioles following a trade on Monday night.
Raquet, who was designated for assignment on Sunday to make room on the 40-man roster for lefty reliever Jared Shuster, was traded to the Orioles for outfielder Brayden Smith, the team announced on Tuesday morning. The 22-year-old Smith has been assigned to High-A Peoria in the Cardinals system.
Raquet, 30, appeared in two games for the Cardinals in 2025 and did not surrender a run. Wearing No. 70 and pitching in front of family members who hurriedly scrambled to get to Seattle, Raquet made his MLB debut on Sept. 9 and retired three Mariners on eight pitches – seven of them being strikes.
Raquet had hoped to make the Cardinals Opening Day roster out of Spring Training, but instead he was assigned to the roster of the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds. He was 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA in two outings with Memphis this season.
Raquet, of course, was quite familiar with life in the Minor Leagues. After being a third-round pick in the 2017 MLB Draft by the Nats, Raquet spent three years in the minors and mostly struggled. Ultimately, he decided to turn his College of William and Mary finance degree into a job as an Enterprise Risk Consultant with Ernst and Young.
Unhappy professionally and missing baseball, Raquet embarked on a return in 2023 – first with the York (Pa.) Revolution of the Independent Atlantic League and then through the Minor Leagues with the Cardinals. Upon reaching the big leagues, Raquet had this to say of his journey: “I’m pretty numb.”
Smith played for Josh Holliday at Oklahoma State
Smith, 22, was a 13th-round pick by the Orioles in the 2025 MLB Draft. He played collegiately at Oklahoma State for coach Josh Holliday, brother of Cardinals Hall of Famer Matt Holliday. With the Cowboys in 2025, Smith slashed .304/.388/.548/.936 with 16 doubles and 11 homers in 54 games.
After finishing 2025 with Class A Delmarva (two doubles and a homer in 16 games), he played one game with High-A Frederick (a hit, stolen base and a walk) in 2026. Smith now heads to High-A Peoria, where he will play for the Chiefs after being assigned there by the Cardinals on Tuesday.
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