The Philadelphia Phillies made another minor league trade on Thursday afternoon. According to Kiley McDaniel of ESPN.com, the Phillies have acquired outfielder Ruben Cardenas from the Tampa Bay Rays. As stated on the Phillies’ transaction website, they sent cash considerations to Tampa Bay as part of the deal.
Phillies acquire heavy-hitting outfielder from Rays’ development system.
Cardenas was drafted by the Cleveland Guardians in the 16th round out of Cal State Fullerton in 2018. He has made his way up through the minor leagues, first with Cleveland and then with the Rays’ organizational system. The 26-year-old joined the Rays organization in 2019 and worked his way up through the ranks, finally hitting at every level.
Cardenas has a.272 hitting average and.829 OPS in six minor league seasons, but his power has only lately begun to develop. In his first season at Triple-A in 2022, the right-handed hitter blasted 16 home runs in 82 games. He surpassed that in 2023, hitting 22 home runs in 132 games. This season, he’s on track to exceed that number.
Cardenas led all qualifying Durham Bulls players in the International League at the time of the trade, with 11 home runs, 28 RBI, a.281 batting average, a.530 slugging percentage, and an.876 OPS in 185 at-bats across 49 games. He has 11 doubles, a triple, and five stolen bases this season.
Splitting time between the outfield corners, he has cut his strikeout percentage this season to 21 percent, down from 26.4 percent last year. Combined with a reduced walk rate of 5.9 percent, down from 11.3, Cardenas appears to be more aggressive and disciplined at the bat.
Cardenas has been assigned and will report to the Phillies’ Triple-A affiliate, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. With David Dahl and Weston Wilson being promoted to the big club, the IronPigs clearly needed some reinforcements.
The move comes after the Phillies’ No. 27 prospect, José Rodríguez, was suspended by MLB for wagering on baseball and the team.
Leave a Reply