After a rumor-filled couple of days leading up to the MLB trade deadline, the St. Louis Cardinals traded away top pitchers that included Ryan Helsley, Steven Matz, and Phil Maton in exchange for a group of young prospects that sets the team up for future success.
The Cardinals weren't done making moves after the trade deadline, and designated 28-year-old slugger Luken Baker for assignment. The first baseman wasn't on waivers for long, as the Los Angeles Dodgers claimed Baker on Monday, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
Baker has been in the Cardinals organization since 2018, after being drafted with the No. 75 overall pick in the MLB Draft. He's mostly played for the Cardinals' Triple-A affiliate, the Memphis Redbirds.
However, the 6-foot-4, 285-pound first baseman has a small amount of experience at the major league level. He was used mostly as a bench player for the Cardinals since 2023, coming in as a designated hitter or first baseman.
Baker has appeared in 72 games for the Cardinals since 2023, and in those games, he has a .201 batting average, .314 on-base percentage, .327 slugging percentage, and a .641 OPS while hitting four home runs and 22 RBI.
St. Louis didn't have a spot for the prospect, with Alex Burleson having a career year at first base and Willson Contreras and Ivan Herrera taking most of the Cardinals' designated hitter at-bats.
The move clears another roster spot for the St. Louis Cardinals. Baker will likely report to the Los Angeles Dodgers' minor league system with a chance of getting spot starts if they continue to struggle with keeping players healthy.