Doesn’t make that trade look confusing at all.rage-STL wrote: ↑13 Feb 2026 11:14 am From D Goold's Cards Extra article in the PD this morning:
Curious trade explained
By trading Andre Granillo to the Washington Nationals earlier this week for right-handed reliever George Soriano, the Cardinals did something unusual for them: They willingly relinquished some elasticity to the roster. Granillo had two minor league options remaining, and that meant he could easily be part of a rotation of relievers to keep the bullpen refreshed throughout the season.
Soriano, 26, is out of options.
He either stays in the majors or goes back on waivers, where he has been claimed multiple times this past offseason. The Cardinals made several attempts to claim him on waivers, but they had a better record than other claiming teams and ultimately had to trade for him.
The lack of options was a factor, Bloom said.
So, too, was the upside of Soriano’s fastball and a bet Bloom said the Cardinals wanted to make — on themselves. The team’s expanding scouting and acquisition group along with the pitching development staff spotted adjustments they thought Soriano could immediately make to improve his big league results.
“We saw an opportunity in Soriano to get someone who we really like, who we think is already better than what his big league results have been, and we saw a few different ways to make improvements there,” Bloom said. “Might be a little more here with this player than what he’s shown. We wanted to stick our neck out there a little bit and have a chance to put that into action this spring training.”
At least the Cardinal staff looks at the player. The White Sox General manager thought his player Acuna was a switch hitter and he’s not. That has to be embarrassing.