Statements by the Cardinals on recent trade activity

Cardinals complete deal with Marlins for All-Star outfielder Marcell Ozuna

The St. Louis Cardinals announced today that they have completed a five-player trade with the Miami Marlins, acquiring All-Star outfielder Marcell Ozuna in exchange for RHP Sandy Alcantara, OF Magneuris Sierra, RHP Zac Gallen and LHP Daniel Castano.

Ozuna, 27, who set career single-season highs for batting average (.312), home runs (37) and RBI (124) last season, earned National League Silver Slugger and Rawlings Gold Glove award selection and was named to his 2nd-straight National League All-Star team.

Joining Matt Kemp (2011) and Matt Holliday (2007) as just the third N.L. outfielder since 2003 to compile a .310-plus batting average, 30-plus home runs and 120-plus RBI in the same season, Ozuna finished the 2017 campaign ranked 3rd in the N.L. in both homers and RBI and he stood 7th among the league’s batting leaders.

The 6-1, 225-pound native of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, finished 15th in N.L. MVP voting last season and led all senior league clean-up hitters (min. 400 at-bats) with his .548 slugging pct. and .924 on-base + slugging mark. Ozuna has a career batting mark of .297 (183-for-617) with 20 HR and 256 RBI with runners in scoring position.

The right-handed hitting Ozuna owns a career batting mark of .277 with 96 HRs and 361 RBI in 653 games, all with the Marlins, who signed him as an international free-agent in February of 2008. Ozuna, who has hit 23 or more homers in three of his four full seasons in the majors, finished 4th in total bases in the N.L. this season and was ranked 5th in at-bats/RBI (4.94) and 10th in at-bats/HR (16.57).

Ozuna led all N.L. left fielders in putouts (305) and fielding pct. (.984) and ranked 2nd in outfield assists (10), earning his first Rawlings Gold Glove award for defensive excellence in his first season as the Marlins regular left fielder. Ozuna, who has played 410 career games in center field, 174 in left and 65 in right, owns 41 career outfield assists since 2013, ranking T5th in the N.L., 1,469 total chances (3rd) and a .988 fielding pct., the 3rd best in that time span among N.L. fly chasers with over 5,500 career innings played.

This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its club

Cards sign free-agent pitcher Luke Gregerson

The St. Louis Cardinals announced today that they have signed free-agent right-handed reliever Luke Gregerson to a two-year (2018-19) contract that includes a team option for the 2020 season that could vest based on incentives.

The nine-year veteran, who has pitched in the Major Leagues with San Diego (2009-13), Oakland (2014) and Houston (2015-17), has limited opposing right-handers to a .200 average that ranks as fifth-lowest among qualified Major League relievers since his 2009 debut. The 6-3, 210-pound Gregerson is also one of only five Major League pitchers to make 60 or more appearances in at least eight seasons, while his 623 total appearances are the most for any Major League reliever, ranking ahead of Tyler Clippard (617) and Brad Ziegler (610) in that time frame.

Last season, the 33-year-old went 2-3 with a 4.57 ERA (61.0 IP) and 70 strikeouts in a team-leading 65 games for Houston. His 70 strikeouts were his highest total since fanning 72 (71.2 IP) for San Diego in 2012.

In 10 career postseason appearances with Oakland and Houston which culminated with the 2017 World Series championship, Gregerson recorded a 1.08 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 8.1 combined innings.

Gregerson ranked 10th in the American League after converting 31 saves in his first season with Houston in 2015. The following season, Gregerson’s .183 average against (38-208) was the fifth-lowest mark among AL relievers (minimum 100 batters faced), while his career-best .156 mark (17-109) against right-handers ranked sixth.

Originally selected by St. Louis in the 28th round of the June 2006 First-Year Player Draft, Gregerson was included as the player-to-be-named later to complete the 2008 offseason trade with San Diego that also included pitcher Mark Worrell for shortstop Khalil Greene. Gregerson made 363 appearances over five seasons with the Padres, which ranks third in San Diego club history behind RHP Trevor Hoffman (902) and LHP Craig Lefferts (375).

The Park Ridge, Ill. native was also a member of Team USA in the 2013 and 2017 World Baseball Classics, winning the WBC title this past spring.

The addition of Gregerson brings the Cardinals’ 40-man Major League roster to capacity.

This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Cardinals trade Stephen Piscotty to Athletics

The St. Louis Cardinals announced today that they have traded outfielder Stephen Piscotty to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for minor league shortstop Yairo Muñoz and second baseman Max Schrock.

Muñoz, 22, was signed by the Athletics as a non-drafted free agent out of Nagua, Dominican Republic in January of 2012. The 6-foot-1, 165 lb., right-handed hitting infielder played shortstop, third base and center field between Midland (AA) and Nashville (AAA) during the 2017 season. He batted .300 with 13 home runs, 68 RBI and stole 22 bases in 112 games and is currently playing in the Dominican Winter League for the Toros del Este.

Over 504 career minor league games, Muñoz batted .265 with 41 home runs and 237 RBI and 63 stolen bases in 87 attempts. Muñoz was a 2015 Midwest League All-Star at Beloit and a 2014 New York-Penn League All-Star with Vermont.

Schrock, 23, was originally a 13th round draft pick by the Washington Nationals in the 2015 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of South Carolina. Schrock was traded to the Athletics in 2016 in exchange for former Cardinals pitcher Marc Rzepczynski. He has batted .324 over his career with a .372 on-base percentage, 18 home runs and 131 RBI over 281 minor league games.

The 5-foot-8, 180 lb., left-handed hitting second baseman was a 2017 Mid-Season and Post-Season Texas League All-Star at Midland (AA) and 2016 South Atlantic League All-Star at Hagerstown (A) including earning the Top Star Honor for the SAL All-Star Game.

In 2017, Schrock ranked fourth in the Texas League with a .321 batting average while ranking third in on-base percentage (.379) and was the “Toughest to Strike Out in” the league registering 10.80 plate appearances per strikeout. Defensively, Schrock led all Texas League second basemen in games (101), total chances (436), put outs (173), assists (257) and double plays (83).

Piscotty, 26, was the Cardinals supplemental first round (33rd overall) draft pick out of Stanford University in the 2012 First-Year Player Draft. Piscotty batted .268 with 38 home runs and 163 RBI over 323 career Major League games. He signed a six-year contract extension with the Cardinals on April 3, 2017.

Muñoz has been placed on the Cardinals 40-man Major League roster and Schrock will be assigned to a minor league roster.