St. Louis sends: 1998 STL 3rd round pick and SP Marty Bystrom to the San Diego Padres for RP Gil Heredia
At first glance, the Cards are hoping Heredia is more “rotation depth” than “rotational nightmare.”
San Diego: Smart, Savvy, and Smiling
Let’s start with the obvious: San Diego just turned a goner into gold. Gil Heredia. 8.68 ERA. Finger injury that keeps him out 2–3 months. And yet somehow, the Padres walk away with a 3rd round pick. That’s not just clever—that’s thievery disguised as roster management.
Heredia’s a dumpster fire on the mound, and his short-term value is zero. But San Diego doesn’t care—they just added a pick in a market where pitchers’ picks are rarer than a sunny day in February. That’s how you win quietly.
St. Louis: Bold? Or Just Desperate?
Meanwhile, the Cardinals acquire Heredia and are apparently thinking: “He might pitch okay… eventually… if the stars align… and Mercury isn’t in retrograde.” His stamina is 8. That’s not starter material; that’s “hope no one notices you suck” material. Although with the Cardinals bullpen, something that may just work.
Bystrom? Gone. Once a 1996 sensation, now a ghost of his former self. And the 3rd round pick? Poof. Out the window. In exchange, St. Louis gets a reliever who might be a starter who may be better as a reliever who can’t pitch until September.
Call it what you want—flexibility, depth, or a masterclass in optimism—but this isn’t a headline move. It’s more like the Cardinals staring at a glass half empty and saying, “Maybe it’ll fill itself.”
Trade Grades
- San Diego Padres: A+ — low risk, big reward, high-five-worthy.
- St. Louis Cardinals: B– (and that’s generous) — useful depth if Heredia turns into something resembling a pitcher; otherwise, a cautionary tale.
In trades like this, context is everything: injuries, scarcity, and plain common sense. San Diego has it. St. Louis? Let’s hope for a miracle.