Cardinals Trade Deadline Addition Already Turning Heads

The St. Louis Cardinals had an exciting week leading up to the trade deadline. They executed three trade deadline deals, most notably sending Ryan Helsley to the New York Mets for a package of prospects in return.

St. Louis also traded Phil Maton to the Texas Rangers and Steven Matz to the Boston Red Sox this year.

Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter recently called Cardinals trade deadline addition Jesus Baez one of the better prospects traded at the deadline. The Cardinals acquired Baez in the Helsley deal with the Mets.

"The New York Mets signed Jesus Baez for a modest $275,000 during the 2022 international signing window, but he quickly outperformed expectations with a strong showing in the Dominican Summer League in his pro debut," Reuter wrote. "The 20-year-old has continued to impress against older competition this season while splitting the year between Single-A and High-A, hitting .242/.334/.390 with 11 doubles, 10 home runs, 42 RBI and a solid 11.3 percent walk rate in 76 games.

"With 60-grade raw power and a strong throwing arm, his future home will likely be third base, and he is a candidate to take a major step forward during the 2026 season as he continues to climb the minor league ladder."

Although the overall return for Helsley has received some criticism, Baez is a very talented prospect with a lot of untapped potential. He's a very toolsy prospect with all the traits to be successful. At 20 years old, he's struggled to consistently find the barrel, but when he does, he generates eye-popping exit velocity numbers.

According to MLB Pipeline, Baez is already the Cardinals' No. 6 prospect. He's bound to put the pieces together in order to be big league ready in the next few years. The Cardinals certainly got themselves a good one.