St. Louis Cardinals Jack Flaherty to Baltimore Orioles. Here’s who they got in return

In their fourth trade in the last three days — involving their fifth pending free agent — the Cardinals are sending right-hander Jack Flaherty to the Baltimore Orioles, per reports from The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

In return, the Cardinals will receive three minor leaguers — infielder César Prieto, left-handed pitcher Drew Rom and right-handed pitcher Zack Showalter. MLB Pipeline ranked Prieto as Baltimore’s 16th best prospect and Rom as their 18th.

Prieto and Rom were assigned to Triple-A Memphis and Showalter to Low-A Palm Beach.

Prieto, 24, is a left-handed hitter who plays second base, third base, and shortstop. He’s hit six home runs and posted an .868 OPS this season split between Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk.

Rom, 23, is a left-handed starter who is 7-6 with a 5.34 ERA for Triple-A Norfolk. He joins John King — acquired Sunday from Texas — as the two players the Cardinals traded for at this deadline who hold spots on the 40-man roster.

Showalter, 19, has pitched in nine games (eight starts) in the Florida Complex League and for Low-A Delmarva. He’s recorded 41 strikeouts in 30 1/3 innings, posting a 2.37 ERA.

Flaherty, 27, was a compensatory first round pick of the Cardinals in 2015 and has spent his entire professional career with the organization. His 4.43 ERA in 20 starts thus far this season represents his first fully healthy year since the abbreviated 2020 campaign, in which the Cardinals handled him particularly delicately following their many stops and starts.

The second half of Flaherty’s 2019 season was perhaps one of the best stretches for any pitcher in franchise history. In fifteen starts following the 2019 All-Star break, he allowed a miniscule 0.91 ERA; he allowed 10 earned runs in 99 1/3 innings, striking out 124 against only 23 walks over that stretch.

Those heights, unfortunately, did not directly predict success to come. The jagged 2020 season was followed by two years in which Flaherty struggled to stay healthy, making only 23 starts in 2021 and 2022 combined.

Despite those struggles, Flaherty has been an undisputed leader in the clubhouse and among the pitching staff, and his departure is further indication of a pitching development process that has gotten far afield of the success which sustained the Cardinals through 15 years of winning seasons.

“Jack’s like my little brother,” Adam Wainwright said Saturday. “I feel like I raised him in some ways, and I think he feels like that too ... It’s been really fun watching him grow and mature in the game, and learn himself and how to pitch, and compete the way he competes.”