ST. LOUIS -- Needing to clear a roster spot and playing time for newly acquired veteran Tommy Pham, the Cardinals dealt struggling outfielder Dylan Carlson to the Rays just before the Trade Deadline for veteran right-handed reliever Shawn Armstrong.

The Armstrong acquisition comes a day after the Cardinals traded for right-handed pitcher Erick Fedde and Pham in a three-team deal with the White Sox and Rays. Pham reported to the Cardinals on Tuesday, but he was not in the starting lineup.

TRADE DETAILS
Cardinals receive: RHP Shawn Armstrong
Rays receive: OF Dylan Carlson

“We wanted to make sure we tried to find a starter, a right-handed bat and we also wanted to add a reliever and we were able to accomplish that,” Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said. “Obviously, it’s a little bittersweet when you have to trade somebody like Dylan Carlson, but in all honesty, it just wasn’t working here. Ultimately, we felt like we’d give [Carlson] a change of scenery and be able to address our needs.”

Armstrong, 33, was 2-2 with a 5.40 ERA in 38 games (seven starts) this season for the Rays. He struck out 50 hitters in 46 2/3 innings.

Armstrong has a 29.8% chase rate this season, which ranks him in the 64th percentile of the league. He also has a 23.4% strikeout rate, which is in MLB’s 57th percentile.

Armstrong has pitched for the Guardians, Mariners, Orioles, Marlins and Rays. He put together a spectacular season in 2023, posting a 1.38 ERA over 39 appearances (six starts). Mozeliak hopes that Armstrong will be able to shoulder some of the innings manned by right-handers Andrew Kittredge and Ryan Fernandez in recent weeks.

Carlson, once the top-rated player in the Cardinals’ Minor League system, saw his career turned upside down in recent years because of a series of injuries and struggles from the left side of the plate. He’s hit .189 from the left side of the plate this season.

Carlson hit 18 homers and finished third in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2021. In 2022, the Cardinals traded away Harrison Bader to create a lane for Carlson to be their starting center fielder on a playoff team. However, wrist and thumb injuries late in that season sapped his power and cost him time in center field.

By 2023, the Cardinals' glut of outfielders pushed Carlson out of the regular rotation. An ankle injury, one that ultimately ended up requiring season-ending surgery, also marred his season.

This season, Carlson was the Cardinals most productive player during Spring Training, and he was set to be the team’s starting center fielder following injuries to Tommy Edman and Lars Nootbaar. However, an outfield collision left Carlson with a sprained AC joint in his left shoulder just two days before the start of the season.

“What if is not a game you really want to play because it’s not the reality of the situation,” Carlson told MLB.com. “It’s a tough spot to put yourself in, but I know the work I put in in the offseason and the stuff I put myself through. It definitely hurts [with the setback], but nobody feels sorry for you.”

Injuries and spotty playing time in recent years seemed to sap the pop in Carlson’s bat. He failed to homer in his first 59 games of this season and his homerless streak stretched to 93 games and dated to June 20, 2023, a night when he hit two homers against the Nationals in Washington, D.C. Carlson recently wondered if a change of scenery might help him revive his career, but he was uncertain about how such a jolt might work considering he has been with the Cardinals for the past eight years.

“I’ve never experienced [a fresh start], because I’ve been here with this organization since I was 17 years old. Really, this is all I’ve ever known,” Carlson said. “But, look, I think there’s something to it -- going somewhere new and experiencing new things. It could open new ways of thinking and new ways of playing, and it could unlock what you need to unlock.”