Report: Red Sox trade John Lackey to Cardinals
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The St. Louis Cardinals acquired their second starter in as many days on Thursday, grabbing veteran right-hander John Lackey from the Boston Red Sox just hours before the non-waiver trade deadline, according to Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal.
red sox expected to get ML ready OF and pitcher back for lackey from @STLCards. @GordonEdes 1st mentioned lackey trade
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) July 31, 2014
Beset by injuries to several members of their rotation, the Cardinals acquired Lackey less than 24 hours after trading for Justin Masterson of the Cleveland Indians.
Lackey has enjoyed an impressive resurgence over the last two seasons after spending the entire 2012 campaign recovering from Tommy John surgery. The 35-year-old owns a 3.60 ERA (108 ERA+) across 21 starts for the Red Sox this season, notching 116 strikeouts while issuing 32 walks over 137 1/3 innings.
Lackey's unique contract also features a $500,000 team option for next season that the Cardinals will surely exercise.