Just before the buzzer Thursday, the Cardinals completed their third and final trade, sending reliever Phil Maton to the Texas Rangers.
In return, the Cardinals got minor league pitchers Skylar Hales and Mason Molina plus international bonus pool space. Hales is at Triple-A, while Molina is at High-A.
On Wednesday, St. Louis shipped Ryan Helsley to the Mets and Steven Matz to the Red Sox.
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Here are five things to know about Skylar Hales and Mason Molina.
The basics on Skylar Hales
Skylar Hales (20) of Santa Clara pitches during an NCAA baseball game against Stanford on Tuesday, March 7, 2023 in Stanford, Calif. (AP Photo/Lachlan Cunningham)
Lachlan Cunningham
Right-handed reliever Skylar Hales, a 23-year-old native of Reno, Nevada, stands 6-foot-4. He was picked in the fourth round of the 2023 draft out of Santa Clara. He ranks as the Rangers’ No. 28 prospect, according to MLB.com.
He is not ranked in Baseball America’s Rangers prospect rankings.
Hales, since his freshman year of college in 2021, has added 35 pounds to his frame — he’s now listed at 220 pounds — and about 10 miles per hour to his fastball, from 90mph then to sometimes touching 100 now.
Hales put up a 5.26 ERA in 27 games in relief at Double-A Frisco (Texas) to start the season and moved up to Triple-A at the start of July. He has struggled so far at that level, with a 15.95 ERA in seven outings.
He permitted at least one run in five of those outings and allowed a hit in six of them while recording an 8.8% swinging strike rate. Hales isn’t giving up that much hard contact, indicating he may just be experiencing Triple-A growing pains.
In his spare time, Hales enjoys playing games including ping pong, spikeball, cornhole, pool, foosball, and board games, according to his college bio.
He has been assigned to the Cardinals’ Triple-A affiliate in Memphis.
What the scouts are saying about Hales
Baseball America projects Hales as a “surefire reliever as a pro” who has a mid-90s fastball and mid-80s slider. The fastball has above average life through the zone, while the slider is more of a slider-cutter hybrid, according to the publication.
“If he can sharpen his command, he could reach the big leagues quickly and fit into a late-inning role,” Baseball America writes.
His fastball can reach up to 100mph, but Hales must find a reliable secondary offering, according to MLB.com’s scouting report.
Fangraphs notes his vulnerability to left-handers, calling Hales “an anti-lefty weapon away from being big league ready. That could make for a quick ascent or a slow boil.”
Arkansas pitcher Mason Molina (21) throws against Murray State during an NCAA baseball game on Sunday, March 3, 2024, in Fayetteville, Ark. (AP Photo/Michael Woods)
Michael Woods
The basics on Mason Molina
Molina, a 6-foot-2, 230-pound left-handed pitcher, was picked in the seventh round last season by the Brewers out of the University of Arkansas. Milwaukee dealt him to Texas this past January.
A native of Irvine, California, the city where Andre Pallante attended college, Molina has played in just 20 career minor league game, starting 19 of them. He turned 22 in early July.
This season, he began in Class A, putting up a 3.86 ERA in 11 starts before moving up to High-A. He hasn’t shown any problems with the adjustment. Molina has a 2.63 ERA at that level in seven games, six of them starts.
His 27.3% strikeout rate would rank among South Atlantic League leaders if he qualified while his 10.9% walk rate would be one of the highest in the league.
Molina has been assigned to the Cardinals’ High-A affiliate in Peoria, Illinois.
What the scouts are saying about Molina
Ranked by MLB.com as the Rangers’ 27th-best prospect, Molina “looked like a potential first-round pick early in his college career at Texas Tech” before transferring to Arkansas then dealing with an ankle injury and control problems.
His fastball sits at 90-91mph and tops out at 95, but “it’s effective because it rides past bats at the top of the strike zone,” according to MLB.com, which ranks his changeup as his best offering.
He is a “changeup artist” and depth starter, Fangraphs writes. That site does not have him among the organization’s top 45 prospects.
The big picture
In total, the Cardinals picked up six prospects in three trades at the deadline, shipping out three MLB pitchers with expiring contracts while keeping all players who are under team control beyond this season.
Two of the prospects, first baseman Blaze Jordan and Hales, will start at Triple-A Memphis.
The other four will all begin at High-A Peoria. Three of them are pitchers: Molina, Nate Dohm and Frank Essalt. They join infielder Joshua Baez.
In acquiring the best available players, outgoing president of baseball operations John Mozeliak picked up mostly players who are far from the major leagues.
They provide a much-needed boost to the organization’s minor-league depth, but they won’t be knocking on the door to the big leagues for at least a couple of seasons.
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