The St. Louis Cardinals did not land the once-in-a-lifetime talent in Juan Soto, but they got two pretty good pieces as a result. Welcome to the Birds, Jose Quintana and Jordan Montgomery.
Left-handed pitching is one of the most coveted positions in all of baseball, and the Cardinals acquired two of them at the deadline. They said goodbye to the golden-haired Gold Glover, Harrison Bader, but as of now, the deal looks pretty good.
Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright will never play together again, and a massive overpay may have made sense, but this was the smarter choice. The Cardinals will continue to compete, but they now can keep raising the farm. And hey, we can always sign him after his time in San Diego!
In case you missed it, both pitchers made pretty darn good debuts with the Cardinals which were part of our seven-game win streak. Let’s take a look into both of their debuts in their new jerseys.
Jose Quintana’s Cardinals Debut
Jose Quintana was the first lefty acquired by the St. Louis Cardinals and the first to make his debut, so we will analyze his performance first. The acquisition of Jose Quintana may have been one of the better deals by any MLB club at the deadline.
What were you doing on August 4? Jose Quintana was busy pitching a gem for his new team, against his new biggest rival. He was welcomed into the family with open arms after he crushed the Chicago Cubs.
The 33-year-old lefty threw 6.0 innings of one-run ball. He pitched a one-hitter, which just so happened to leave the park. Seven Cubbies were struck out as he earned his third win of the season. Jose Quintana pushed his ERA down to 3.39 and WHIP to 1.23.
St. Louis’ pitching rotation was depleted, to say the least. On top of that, we were desperate for quality (or any for that matter) left-handed pitching. We acquired a great veteran starter for good quality, and he shined in his Cardinals debut.
Jordan Montgomery’s Cardinals Debut
It is bittersweet to lose Harrison Bader, but hopefully, Jordan Montogomery’s Cardinals debut removed some of that poor taste from your mouth. The former New Yorker had the pleasure of making his debut against the team that traded him.
In game two of the three-game series against the New York Yankees, Montgomery got the nod from Oliver Marmol. It was a pitcher’s duel, and Montgomery got the better end of it. It is hard to think of a better Cardinals debut than the 1-0 victory over the team in pinstripes.
Montgomery went 5.0 innings allowing only two hits and one walk. The 29-year-old lowered his ERA to 3.53 and his WHIP (which is well-below league average) to 1.08. He looks much better in red, anyways.
Montgomery will be a middle-of-the-pack starter for us as we continue the push to October. After Bader released his emotional “thank you” video to Cardinals Nation, we can only say thank you back to him. For now, however, it is time to move on and focus on the present: winning the NL Central and sending our old veterans off into the sunset with some hardware.
