ST. LOUIS – Life moves fast in Major League Baseball, and two of the newest St. Louis Cardinals are learning that first-hand. A pair of Cardinals’ newcomers could both make their team debuts against one of their former ballclubs.
The Cardinals revamped their pitching staff with southpaws Jose Quintana and Jordan Montgomery, two experienced arms who have combined for a respectable 108-105 record, 3.84 ERA and 1,962 strikeouts since their calls to the majors. Both are expected to be key contributors to the starting rotation immediately.
Coincidentally, Quintana and Montgomery could both make their Cardinals debuts under rare circumstances. Quinatana will start Thursday’s series finale against the Chicago Cubs, who he pitched for from 2017 to 2020.
“I’m really blessed to get this opportunity to come in here,” Quintana told reporters on Bally Sports Midwest. He adds he has played at Busch Stadium a few times and “I know how cool it is.”
Montgomery, who is expected to report to the team Thursday, could start or pitch in the following series against the New York Yankees, his first and only previous MLB team who he pitched for from 2017 to 2022.
“I’m pretty shocked. This is my family. This is all I know,” Montgomery told Yankees beat reporters just moments after the trade. Montgomery also added that Cardinals fans will get a pitcher that works hard.
While these aren’t the type of occurrences you might find easily in record books, it’s fair to say that Quintana’s and Montgomery’s situations don’t happen too frequently. That said, there have already been a few situations in which a team has traded one player this season only to take them on immediately in their first game or series after the trade.
- The Kansas City Royals traded outfielder Andrew Benintendi to the New York Yankees on July 27, one night before the start of a Yankees-Royals series in New York.
- The Boston Red Sox traded catcher Christian Vazquez to the Houston Astros on August 1 while the Red Sox warmed up before a game in Houston that night.
The Quintana and Montgomery trades cost the Cardinals a few assets from the majors and minor-league level. Outfielder Harrison Bader joins the Yankees in the Montgomery deal. Pitcher Johan Ovideo and prospect Malcolm Nunez joined the Pittsburgh Pirates in the Quintana deal, which also netted the Cardinals Chris Stratton.
One day after the MLB trade deadline, the Cardinals continue a three-game series with the Cubs. St. Louis carries a 55-48 record into Wednesday, just two games back of the Milwaukee Brewers for the NL Central lead and half of a game back of the Philadelphia Phillies for the final NL Wild Card spot.