Brandon Moss to Cardinals: Latest Trade Details, Comments, and Reaction

The St. Louis Cardinals added a powerful bat to bolster their World Series hopes Thursday, as they acquired slugging outfielder and first baseman Brandon Moss from the Cleveland Indians in exchange for highly touted pitching prospect Rob Kaminsky.

Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com was the first to report on talks between the Cards and the Tribe before Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch confirmed the deal. The Indians announced the trade later in the day. 

Cleveland acquired the 31-year-old Moss from the Oakland Athletics this past offseason, and results have been mixed. His .217 batting average is on pace to be a career low for a full season, but his run production has been solid, with 15 home runs and 50 RBI.

With first baseman Matt Adams on the disabled list and outfielder Matt Holliday possibly heading there as well, St. Louis desperately needed to inject some power into its lineup.

As pointed out by Craig Edwards of FanGraphs, though, Moss is far from a perfect option:

The big concern with regard to the trade from the perspective of Cardinals fans is the progress of Kaminsky. The 20-year-old lefty was the No. 28 overall selection in the 2013 MLB draft, and he is enjoying a great season at High-A Palm Beach with a 2.09 ERA in 17 starts.

According to Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com, parting with Moss' power was made easier by the fact that Cleveland has high hopes for the prospect it is receiving in return:

This has the makings of a deal that could be mutually beneficial for the teams involved since it helps the Cardinals now and could help the Indians down the line.

Moss gives St. Louis the pop it needs, and he has playoff experience, as he has played in each of the past three postseasons.

Kaminsky is a supremely talented hurler who could join the likes of Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar, Corey Kluber and Trevor Bauer in a few years to give the Indians one of the league's best starting rotations.

With Cleveland unlikely to make the playoffs and St. Louis battling for another World Series title, both teams made a move that should help them accomplish their immediate goals.  

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