Cardinals Boost Bullpen, Acquire Zach Duke

The St. Louis Cardinals looking to upgrade their bullpen before the MLB trade deadline ends on Monday afternoon, found an upgrade in Chicago White Sox left-handed reliever Zach Duke. The Cardinals traded outfielder Charlie Tilson to the White Sox for Zach Duke. So far, the Cardinals bullpen hasn't done as well as last season's bullpen. Coming into today, the Cardinals bullpen era is 3.30 (good for 6th in the league). Last season's bullpen was 3rd best and finished with an era of 2.82.

Zach Duke, 33, was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2001 in the 20th round of the MLB draft. He started his career off as a starter for the Pirates. His best season came in 2009, when he made the NL All-Star team. That season, Duke started 32 games, and went 11-16, 3 complete games, with an era of 4.06 in 213 innings. After 2013, Duke rejuvenated his career as a reliever for the Milwaukee Brewers. He finished 2014 going 5-1, with an era of 2.45, 74 games, 74 strikeouts, 17 walks, 12 holds in 58.2 innings. Duke was able to hold left-handed hitters to a .198 batting average.

Duke became a free agent after the 2014 season, and signed a three-year contract with the Chicago White Sox worth $15 million. Right now, Duke is 2-0, and has an era of 2.63 in 37.2 innings.. He's appeared in 53 games, which lead the American League in appearances.

Dating back to 2014, Duke has appeared in 198 games, which ranks fourth in the MLB and second behind Pittsburgh Pirates reliever Tony Watson (200) among lefties.

What do the White Sox get in Charlie Tilson? They get a good outfielder, who has a chance to maybe become an everyday player or a fourth outfielder. He's 23, and is known for his contact, defense, and speed. On Baseball America's update for mid-season, Tilson was ranked as the Cardinals 10th best prospect and MLB.com ranked him as the Cardinals 12th best prospect out of 30. In the minors, Tilson is a 293 career hitter, 538 hits, 265 runs, 59 doubles, 33 triples, 19 home runs, 154 rbi's, 89 stolen bases

Tilson has been compared to Yankees left-fielder Brett Gardner.

Houston Astros Sign Yulieski Gourriel

The Houston Astros, looking to upgrade their roster signed free agent third baseman Yulieski Gourriel to a five-year contract. The contract is worth $47.5 million. Gurriel, 32, was a top international free agent from Sancti Spiritus, Cuba. Lots of MLB teams wanted Gourriel, a few of those teams were the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, New York Yankees, San Diego Padres, and the San Francisco Giants.  In 2006, Gourriel was considered the best player in Cuba. He was a part of the World Baseball Classic three times for Cuba (2006, 2009, and 2013). He played in Japan for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars in 2014, and 2015.

Between Cuba and Japan in fifteen seasons,Gourriel's carer stats are: 925 games played, 974 runs, 1,585 hits, 308 doubles, 48 triples, 250 home runs, 1,018 rbi's, 121 stolen bases, 611 walks, and a .335 batting average. One of his best seasons came in 2009 in Cuba, when he hit .363, with 90 runs, 125 hits, 30 home runs, and 105 rbi's.

Gourriel should help the Houston Astros immediately, he looks like he'll head to the minors first to get some work in before making his MLB debut. The Astros team just got a lot better too and the Astros already have Carlos Correa and Jose Altuve up the middle. The Astros infield looks a lot better with Gourriel. All in all the Houston Astros made a great move.