Cardinals trade for Brandon Moss from Indians

LOUIS, MO (KPLR)- The Cardinals make a roster move ahead of Friday afternoon’s trade deadline by picking up Brandon Moss from the Cleveland Indians.

Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com was the first to report on talks between the Cards and the Tribe before Bernie Miklasz of the St.

Moss, 31, has been an impact player in spurts throughout his career but is now carrying an uninspiring.217/.288/.407 slash line in 94 games with the Indians. His OPS+ had regressed from 162 to 136 to 119 to 91 over the past four years.

Because he has a ton of experience playing both corner outfield spots as well as first base, Moss will help the Cardinals cover for Holliday’s injury as well add depth at first base, where the team is without Matt Adams (quad). He’s had a very Brandon Moss season this year, posting a miniscule.

Even though Moss was a power bat with another year of team control, the Indians must have felt the value of Kaminsky was too much to pass up.

Kaminsky, 20, was the Cardinals’ first-round pick (28th overall) in the 2013 draft and is now ranked by MLB.com as the team’s third-best prospect.

Baseball America rated him the Cardinals’ No. 5 prospect entering this season. He’s finishing up the year at high-A in the Florida State League. The southpaw has posted a 2.09 ERA in seventeen starts this season while striking out 79 in 94.2 innings at High-A Palm Beach, and immediately becomes a top prospect in the Indians’ system.