Cardinals send Dylan Carlson to Rays for RHP Shawn Armstrong

The St. Louis Cardinals sent former top outfield prospect Dylan Carlson to the Tampa Bay Rays for right-handed pitcher Shawn Armstrong , the teams announced Tuesday.

Carlson, 25, was a highly touted first-round draft pick by St. Louis in 2016, but his numbers have declined since he batted a career-best .266 with 18 home runs over 149 games in 2021. He has hit .225 with 13 homers and 80 RBIs in 263 games since.

After missing the start of the 2024 season with a shoulder injury, Carlson was batting just .198 with no home runs and 11 RBIs in 59 games.

The fifth-year veteran has a career batting average of .239 with 34 home runs and 161 RBIs in 447 games, all with the Cardinals.

Armstrong, 33, is 2-2 with one save and a 5.40 ERA in 38 appearances (seven starts) for Tampa Bay this season.

He is 10-7 with eight saves and a 4.18 ERA in 280 career games (16 starts) with the Cleveland Guardians (2015-2017), Seattle Mariners (2018-2019), Baltimore Orioles (2019-2021), Miami Marlins (2022) and Rays (2021, 2022-2024).