ST. LOUIS – The St. Louis Cardinals completed two trades on the eve of MLB’s 2025 trade deadline, bidding farewell to relief pitchers Ryan Helsley and Steven Matz for a haul of four prospects.
While Helsley, who set a new Cardinals single-season saves record just last year, was arguably the biggest name involved and netted a larger return, it’s a prospect in the Matz trade that’s generating the most buzz.
The Cardinals acquired corner infielder Blaze Jordan from the Boston Red Sox in a one-for-one swap for pending free agent Steven Matz.
Blaze Jordan, 22, has spent the last five seasons in the minor leagues, posting a respectable career .291 batting average, along with 55 home runs and 303 RBI, since 2021. This year, between the Red Sox Double-A and Triple-A affiliates, Jordan was hitting .308 with 12 home runs and 62 RBI and striking out just 10% of the time, an elite mark for plate discipline.
The stats tell one story, but Jordan’s offense (specifically his power) made waves even before his professional career began.
At 16 years old, Jordan won a high school home run derby during MLB’s 2019 All-Star Week festivities in Cleveland. Jordan finished with a group-leading seven home runs over 90 seconds.
Jordan also once went viral as a teenager, crushing two 500-foot home runs on video with a metal bat during a 2016 Power Showcase event in Texas, which first put his raw power on the map.
A native of Southaven, Mississippi, Jordan has split time between first base and third base this season. He will likely begin his Cardinals career at Triple-A Memphis, and could possibly push for a late-season callup, though the team has not confirmed immediate plans.
Jordan reunites with Cardinals’ soon-to-be lead executive Chaim Bloom through the trade after Bloom spent four seasons as chief baseball operator with the Red Sox from 2020 to 2023 with an emphasis on prospect development.
On Thursday morning, Jordan shared of his excitement for joining the Cardinals via social media platform X, saying “St. Louis let’s do it!”
In The Cardinals’ other trade on Wednesday, longtime closer Ryan Helsley was traded to the New York Mets in exchange for shortstop Jesus Baez, right-handed pitcher Nate Dohm, and right-handed pitcher Frank Elissalt.
Baez was the Mets’ sixth-highest ranked prospect and began the season ranked 92nd in all of baseball, according to Baseball America. Baez, Dohm and Elissalt were all playing at the Mets’ Single-A level prior to the trade.
Baez slots into the sixth-best ranked Cardinals prospect on MLB Pipeline’s list, while Dohm slots in at 15th and Jordan slots in at 19th.