The Cardinals acquired George Soriano in a trade in return for Andre Granillo
Baseball is officially back. Pitchers and catchers begun reporting to their respective spring training facilities in Arizona and Florida on Tuesday.
Just because baseball activities have begun in kind, that doesn't mean teams are staying pat and not making moves and that includes the St. Louis Cardinals.
St. Louis will mark the fourth team Soriano has been with this offseason. The Baltimore Orioles claimed him off waivers from the Miami Marlins on Nov. 5.
The Orioles designated Soriano for assignment Jan. 5, claimed off waivers by the Atlanta Braves on Jan. 9, DFA'd by the Braves on Jan. 26, claimed off waivers by the Nationals Jan. 30 and DFA'd by Washington on Feb. 5.
Soriano, who'll be 27-years-old March 24, was signed as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic by the Marlins in 2015.
Soriano spent eight years in Miami's farm system before making his major league debut in 2023. Across his three seasons in the majors, he posted a 5.95 ERA with 117 strikeouts in 118 innings across 72 appearances (one start).
Soriano's best year in the majors was his first one in '23. He had a 3.81 ERA and fanned 52 hitters in as many innings pitched across 26 outings (one start).
Granillo was selected in the 14th round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of UC Riverside. He made his major league debut last season.
In his first year in the big leagues, Granillo posted a 4.71 ERA with 18 strikeouts in 21 innings pitched across 14 appearances.
The Soriano-for-Granillo swap is an atypical one for the Cardinals and president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom this offseason.
Most of the deals Bloom and the organization has made in the last year have involved moving on from established veterans and building assets for the future.
This is a rare example of a one-to-one swap for St. Louis. Both hurlers are right-handed and have been utilized exclusively as low-to-mid leverage relievers. This could simply be a deal made for both clubs, who are in the middle of respective rebuilds, to get new faces in the clubhouse for spring training. It could also be a matter of preference of stuff between the two righty pitchers.
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