ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Following the acquisition of outfielder Tommy Pham from the Chicago White Sox in a three-team trade that also netted the Cardinals starter Erick Fedde, it has felt like outfielder Dylan Carlson's days as a Cardinal were all but numbered.
On Tuesday on MLB Trade Deadline Day, Carlson's time with the Cardinals has come to an end, with the Cardinals having shipped Carlson to the Tampa Bay Rays for reliever Shawn Armstrong.
The trade will mark a disappoint end to Carlson's tenure in St. Louis after so much hype and expectations.
Carlson was drafted by the Cardinals with the 33rd overall pick in the 2016 Draft. Carlson would then go on an impressive run in the minors that would see him be ranked at as a top 20 prospect in all of baseball entering 2020 and 2021 by nearly every baseball scouting outlet, with Baseball America even ranking Carlson in the top 10 in their prospect rankings entering 2020 and 2021.
Carlson first three seasons with the Cardinals was respectable from 2020-2022, with Carlson slashing a .247/.323/.407 slash line with a .730 OPS, hitting 29 home runs, 123 RBIs. Analytically, Carlson posted a respectable 5.1 rWAR from 2020-2022 and 104 OPS+.
However, injuries and a poor run of form have hurt Carlson in the past two seasons, with Carlson having only played 135 the past two seasons, and hitting a slash line of .212/.303/.300 slash line and only smashing five home runs. Carlson's OPS+ of 67 is 33 points below the league average of 100.
This season, Carlson has seen his playing time diminished, being relegated to a fourth outfielder of a majority of the season, and seeing the likes of Michael Siani and Alec Burleson seeing significantly more playing time than Carlson this season, with Carlson having only played 59 games in 2024, compared to Siani and Burleson who are on the verge of playing 100 games.
Carlson still have two more years of control left, with Carlson set to head into his last two years of arbitration before heading to free agency after 2026.
Armstrong 33, has posted a 5.40 ERA in 38 appearances this season, striking out 50 batters in 46 2/3 innings pitched. Armstrong is set to become a free agent after the season.
Armstrong has been a key piece out of the bullpen for the Rays during his time in Tampa Bay, serving in a variety of roles, including starting 16 games as an opener for the Rays. During his time with the Rays he posted an overall ERA of 3.50 in 131 appearances, striking out 187 batters in 169 2/3 innings.
Despite having a 5.40 ERA, he does have some solid underlying metrics like a 3.86 SIERA and a FIP of 3.76, suggesting that Armstrong can become a solid piece for the Cardinals out of the bullpen for the next two months.
Armstrong joins a Cardinals bullpen that has been excellent in 2024, but it has been sluggish lately, posting a 4.01 ERA and 4.02 FIP in the month of July.
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