The Cardinals have acquired 30-year old righty reliever John Axford from the Brewers for a player to be named later. Axford pitched in 62 games (0 starts) for the Brewers this year and he was 6-7 with a 4.45 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. Axford has now pitched in 268 games (0 starts) in his first 8 years in the majors and he is 21-19 with 106 saves, a 3.35 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. Axford was a good reliever in the not too distant past, so the Cardinals are hoping that a change of scenery will spark him to get back to the pitcher he was not too long ago. I like this pickup for the Cardinals for the stretch run.
UPDATE: (9/2/2013) – The Cardinals have dealt 24-year old righty reliever Michael Blazek to the Brewers to complete this deal. Blazek pitched in 11 games (0 starts) for the Cardinals earlier this year and he was 0-0 with a 6.97 ERA and a 1.94 WHIP. Blazek also pitched in 36 games (0 starts) in AA+AAA-ball for the Cardinals this year in which he was 1-2 with 9 saves, a 1.97 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP.