The St. Louis Cardinals traded for left-handed relief pitcher Zach Duke of the Chicago White Sox. The deal sent Duke to St. Louis for outfield prospect Charlie Tilson according to the White Sox twitter,
OFFICIAL: The #WhiteSox have acquired OF Charlie Tilson from St. Louis in exchange for LHP Zach Duke.
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) July 31, 2016
St. Louis Cardinals Bolster Bullpen by Acquiring Zach Duke
Cardinals Bolster Bullpen
The Cardinals made this move before the trade deadline to bolster their bullpen. Their bullpen is already sixth in the majors and fourth in the National League with a 3.30 ERA. While these numbers have been good, they could use help as former closer Trevor Rosenthal has struggled this year.
Duke has been a workhorse so far in 2016. He has already played in 53 games which is most in the American League. In those 53 games he has gone 2-0 with 42 strikeouts and a 2.63 ERA.
Duke has one more year after 2016 on his 3-year $15 million contract that he signed with the White Sox in 2015. Next year Duke will be getting $5.5 million in his age-34 season.
White Sox Acquire Charlie Tilson
After playing fairly competitively at the beginning of the season, the White Sox have fallen out of contention. They stand at 51-53 and 9.5 games behind the Cleveland Indians who are 59-42. Regarding the Wild Card race, they sit six games back from the Boston Red Sox who are currently in the second Wild Card spot with a 56-46 record. This makes the White Sox giving up a player like Duke sensible.
Charlie Tilson brings the White Sox a left-handed bat who is nearing the majors. He was drafted in the second round (79th overall) out of high school in the 2011 MLB Draft. He is currently 23-years-old and is playing for the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds. In 100 games thus far, Tilson has batted .282/.345/.407 with four home runs, 34 RBI, and 15 stolen bases.
Tilson has been ranked among the top-20 prospects in the Cardinals organization each year since he has been drafted until 2015. He has been ranked as high as ninth in the system back in 2014. He is also known as a plus defender and was ranked the best defender in the Cardinals system back in 2012.
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