The St. Louis Cardinals made a subtle move on Tuesday. While the Boston Red Sox three-way deal was brewing, the Cardinals added a prospect as they look to improve their at shortstop. The Cardinals traded "Scrabble" aka reliever, Marc Rzepczynski to the Cleveland Indians for the young shortstop Juan Herrera. The Cardinals were rumored to have interest in acquiring an impact shortstop, but it appears they might patiently wait for Herrera to develop.
The youngster is far from ready, but he has been working in the Indians farm system. Herrera is 20 years old and was in Mahonin Valley in Single-A. He is a better hitter than a defender, which is not ideal, but the Cardinals are trying to fill the position with a hitter. Herrera's triple slash is .275/.366/.369 with a home run with 11 RBI. He can get on base and has proven he can do so year after year in the minors.
On defense, Herrera has played 31 games at short. In 138 opportunities, he's committed 12 errors for a .935 fielding percentage. Not that the Cardinals are looking for help at third base, but Herrera has also played 38 games in the hot corner, but his fielding percentage is lower at third than at short.
Pete Kozma showed signs of having a future in the majors after going 24/72 in 26 games, hitting .333 in his brief stint with the Cardinals in 2012. However, 2013 has been rough on the 25-year-old. He's hitting .239 with a home run and 31 RBI. His OBP has also been lackluster, sitting .100 points less than last year. He went .383 in 2012 and he's currently reaching base at a .283 clip.
The Cardinals gave up Rzepczynski, who made great contributions out of the Cardinals' bullpen in the 2012 playoffs. However, in 2013, he struggled, posting a 7.84 ERA in 11 appearances this season.
