Just a year ago, it would have been shocking to learn that the Cardinals had traded infielder Aledmys Diaz.
Tonight? I mostly shrug:
TRADE: Blue Jays acquire Aledmis Diaz from St. Louis in exchange for minor league outfielder JB Woodman.https://t.co/iobdkQvxQ9
— Blue Jays PR (@BlueJaysPR) December 2, 2017
Diaz, 27, exploded for the Cardinals in 2016 after struggling initially to adjust to stateside ball in the minors. The league adjusted cruelly in 2017, though, and Diaz hit just .259/.290/.392 (78 wRC+) in the big leagues, while faring no better in the ample time he spent at AAA.
With the emergence of Paul DeJong and Jedd Gyorko, there wasn’t a whole lot of playing time to be had for Diaz, and the Cardinals clearly decided that even his versatility was not worth keeping in a utility role.
In Woodman, the Cardinals get the Blue Jays’ second round pick from the 2016 draft, an outfield prospect who did not put up huge numbers at Low-A this year, but who nonetheless was a back-end-of-the-organizational-top-30 type. I can’t claim to know much more about him than that. Appears to be more than nothing, but not necessarily a significant prospect.