The MLB offseason has been incredibly exciting so far and it just keeps going. Especially now after the St. Louis Cardinals and Tampa Bay Rays came to an agreement on a trade. St. Louis acquires a solid relief pitcher while Tampa receives a prospect outfielder.

As it turns out, the Cardinals are beefing up their bullpen after acquiring All-Star reliever Andrew Kittredge, while the Rays are acquiring Richie Palacios, according to Joel Sherman of The New York Post.

“The St. Louis Cardinals grab valuable bullpen help by acquiring All-Star reliever Andrew Kittredge from the Tampa Bay Rays for outfielder Richie Palacios.”

Kittredge had a solid campaign in 2023. He finished the season with a 3.09 ERA, 10 strikeouts, one save, and a 2-0 record. The veteran pitcher only participated in 14 games, but he was efficient with his limited opportunities.

As for Palacios, he showed a ton of promise playing for the Cardinals. He ended the 2023 season with a .258 batting average, six home runs, and 16 RBIs. Palacios looked solid despite only having 93 at-bats. He should be able to build upon that playing for the Rays now.

This trade makes sense for the Cardinals, as they can sure up their bullpen for the 2024 season. Meanwhile, the Rays can maintain their heavy hitting with a decent prospect. Overall, this should be viewed as a great trade for both teams. They each walked away filling a need and should be better off in the long run.

We should expect to see Andrew Kittredge hit the ground running for the Cardinals. He joins the team at the perfect time, as he'll be able to get acquainted with the organization before the starting of Spring Training. The same can be said for Richie Palacios and the Rays.