Breaking News: Cardinals Complete Blockbuster Trade Sending $22M Top Star To Rivals

St. Louis is moving on from the 26-year-old hurler

The St. Louis Cardinals completed a trade with the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday after recently making several roster adjustments.

On Monday, the Cardinals promoted former Cincinnati Reds top prospect Jose Barrero to the big leagues but surprisingly optioned hot-hitting infielder Thomas Saggese to Triple-A Memphis.

St. Louis also designated a promising young hurler for assignment to make room for Barrero before trading the pitching prospect to the Dodgers in exchange for cash.

“Ryan Loutos has been traded to the Dodgers for cash,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Derrick Goold first reported Thursday afternoon as the Cardinals lost 9-1 in their series finale against the Cincinnati Reds.

Loutos posted a 9-14 record with a 4.82 ERA, 247-to-97 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .288 batting average against and a 1.60 WHIP throughout his five-year career pitching in the Cardinals’ farm system.

The 26-year-old debuted with St. Louis last season but logged just 2 1/3 innings pitched across three appearances out of the Cardinals’ bullpen.

Considering that Loutos excelled throughout a full season with Triple-A Memphis in 2024 — posting a 3-1 record with a 3.40 ERA, 59-to-23 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .259 batting average against and a 1.43 WHIP in 53 innings pitched — and was logging similar stats with the same Cardinals affiliate this year, it’s challenging to understand why he was traded.

With St. Louis investing in its youth and focusing on boosting the player development system, trading Loutos for cash seems like a counterproductive move.

The Washington University alumnus was making encouraging progress in the Cardinals’ farm system, so it doesn’t yet make much sense why Loutos was traded.