Law: Cardinals capitalize on trades with Rangers, Blue Jays in rare turn as

The Cardinals were clearly going to sell at the deadline, and they finally began that process on Sunday with a pair of trades, sending left-hander Jordan Montgomery to Texas for two prospects and a relief pitcher, and right-handed Jordan Hicks to Toronto for two prospects. It’s a big deal for a team that rarely finds itself in the position of seller on deadline day, and they did well in both trades, especially the Montgomery swap.

Montgomery ranks 17th among all MLB starters and third among lefties in fWAR this year at 2.4, working primarily with three pitches highlighted by a 55 sinker and a changeup that helps the sinker be more effective. He does a lot of things well even though there’s nothing plus here, with low walk rates and enough strikeouts to limit the effect of the hard contact he does surrender. He can be a little homer-prone, which in a small sample — like the two months he’ll give the Rangers — can contribute to short-term volatility, but I’d rather have him than Martín Pérez or Andrew Heaney at the back of my rotation.

Montgomery was one of the best starting pitchers on the trade market, and as a result he netted the Cardinals two very good prospects plus a big-league reliever. Infielder Thomas Saggese has taken a significant step forward at the plate this year with a .314/.380/.514 line for Double-A Frisco as a 21-year-old, already matching his career high in homers. He’s split his time almost evenly between second base and third base and should be able to play either position at an average level. He’s aggressive at the plate but doesn’t miss too often, having some trouble with breaking stuff since he got to Double A. I wrote this winter that I thought he’d peak around 45/50 power, but it looks like I was wrong as he’s already there and should get to at least 55 power. I think he’s a solid regular with a chance to be something like a 4-WAR guy in his best years.

Saggese alone would be a nice return for two months of Montgomery, but the Cards also got right-hander Tekoah Roby, who was pushing to become the Rangers’ top pitching prospect until he hit the injury list in early June with a shoulder issue. Prior to that, he was 92-96 mph with a plus changeup, 50/55 slider, and a yakker of a curveball that he started throwing way more often than the slider, presumably because it was so effective. It’s better control than command right now, although his control keeps improving and he didn’t walk more than one batter in any of his last seven outings. He projects as a No. 2 starter, although there’s a ton of variance here with his shoulder issue this year and an elbow injury in 2021 that didn’t require surgery. He should return before the end of August. The Cardinals also got left-handed reliever John King, who has pitched in the major leagues.

There was talk about the Cardinals working out a long-term…