The Cardinals have decided to replace Ryan Franklin at closer with Jason Isringhausen. Isringhausen has pitched in 37 games (0 starts) this season for the Cardinals and he is 1-5 with 11 saves, a 5.84 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP. It’s interesting that the Cardinals are making this move now with Isringhausen not pitching well. Ryan Franklin just appears to valuable earlier in games for the Cardinals’ bullpen. He has pitched in 49 games (0 starts) this season for the Cardinals and he is 3-4 with 14 saves, a 3.96 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP. It will be interesting to see how this works out for the Cardinals the rest of the season as they can’t afford to blow many games as they are chasing the Brewers and the Cubs in the National League Central.

The St. Louis Cardinals finally decided to give up on 26-year old righty Anthony Reyes as they have traded him to the Indians for 24-year old righty reliever Luis Perdomo. Reyes pitched in 10 games (0 starts) for the Cardinals this season and he was 2-1 with 1 save, a 4.91 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. Reyes dominated in his only start in the 2006 World Series won by the Cardinals which pushed up expectations for him that he would never fulfill in St. Louis. Reyes’ career with the Cardinals ends with him pitching in 53 games (38 starts) in which he was 10-24 with 1 save, a 5.38 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. He had problems keeping the baseball down which resulted in him allowing a stunning 37 homers in 220.2 innings for the Cardinals.

24-year old righty reliever Luis Perdomo was not much of a prospect in the Indians’ minor league system until this year. He has pitched in 40 games (0 starts) in A+AA ball this year and he was 5-1 with 19 saves, a 1.66 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. Perdomo has only allowed 31 hits while whiffing 60 batters in 54.1 innings this season in the minors.

With Cesar Izturis so helpless with a bat in his hands this season the Cardinals should consider making a play for Jhonny Peralta of the Indians. Peralta is a 26-year old righty swinging offensive minded shortstop. He is nowhere near Izturis’ class as a defender but he can flat out hit the baseball. He has played in 94 games for the Indians this season and he is 99 for 367 (.270 avg, .803 OPS) with 63 homers, 17 homers and 52 RBIs. The Indians need help right now at the major league level and might be receptive to an offer of outfielder Joe Mather and pitchers Anthony Reyes and Brad Thompson. Mather was the Cardinals’ #13 prospect heading into this season according to Baseball America. Mather has played in 23 games for the Cardinals this season and he is 12 for 50 (.240 avg, .721 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 2 homers and 5 RBIs. Anthony Reyes is in the Cardinals dog house and Brad Thompson has fallen behind other pitchers in the pecking order. Both of these pitchers would move right into important roles on the Indians if they acquired them. This trade would make perfect sense for both teams.

The Cardinals have placed 1B/OF Chris Duncan on the 15-day disabled list with a bulging disk in his neck. Duncan has played in 76 games with the Cardinals this season and he is 55 for 222 (.248 avg, .711 OPS) with 26 runs scored, 6 homers and 27 RBIs. Duncan will be replaced on the roster by Joe Mather. Mather has played in 20 games for the Cardinals this season and he is 11 for 45 (.244 avg, .755 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 2 homers and 5 RBIs.

21-year old lefty swinging catcher Bryan Anderson is a player that other teams have been asking for in return in trade from the Cardinals as he is off to a great start this season. Anderson has played in 64 games in AA+AAA ball this season and he is 79 for 230 (.343 avg, .867 OPS) with 33 runs scored, 3 homers and 35 RBIs. The Cardinals might be receptive to trading Anderson in the right trade as they really like Yadier Molina at the major league level but he will not come cheap.