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Upgrading a pitching rotation which was among the worst in baseball, the St. Louis Cardinals made their first move acquired right-hander Cristian Javier from the Houston Astros in exchange for outfielder Tyler O'Neill.
The 26-year-old Javier started 31 games for the Astros in 2023 going 10-5 with a 4.56 ERA.
Javier broke into the majors in 2020 and in 109 career games/75 starts has gone 30-17 with a 3.57 ERA and two saves.
Acquired via trade from the Seattle Mariners in 2017, O'Neill, 28, reached the majors with the Cardinals in 2018.
Since then, he has played in 477 games/375 starts and hit .248 with 78 home runs and 217 RBIs.
He won Gold Gloves as a left fielder in 2020 and 2021.
His best overall season was in 2021, when he hit .286 with 34 homers and 80 RBIs.
But a myriad of injuries has limited his playing time the last two seasons.
In 2022, he got into 96 games/88 starts and hit .228 with 14 home runs an 58 RBIs.
This year, he only played in 72 games/59 starts, hitting .213 with nine homers and 21 RBIs.