The St. Louis Cardinals announced a pair of trades today, sending international cap space to the Boston Red Sox for minor league infielders Stanley Espinal and Imeldo Diaz and doing the same with the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for minor league outfielder Lane Thomas.
Espinal, 20, was signed by Boston as an international free-agent on February 3, 2015 out of Santiago, D.R. and has compiled a .251 career batting mark with 8 HR’s & 82 RBI in 132 games in the minors, including seven this season with the Lowell Spinners of the New York-Penn League (short-A). The 6-2, 190-pound right-handed hitting third baseman led the Dominican Summer League in RBI (59) in 2015.
Diaz, 19, is a right-handed hitting shortstop who was an international free agent signee by the Red Sox on July 2, 2014 out of Villa de Cura, Venezuela. The 6-0, 175-pound Diaz owns a career .222 batting average in his 123 games played in the minors, including seven this season for Lowell.
Thomas, 21, was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 5th round of the 2014 amateur draft out of Bearden High School in Knoxville, Tenn. The right-handed hitting centerfielder has produced a career .242 batting average, 18 HR’s, 123 RBI and 42 stolen bases in his 264 games in the minors. The 6-1, 210-pound Thomas was batting .252 with 4 HR’s and 38 RBI in 73 games this season for the Dunedin Blue Jays of the Florida State League (high-A).
