The St. Louis Cardinals announced today that they have acquired right-handed reliever Juan Nicasio (pronounced nih-KAH-see-oh) from the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for minor league infielder Eliezer Alvarez.
Nicasio, 31, had joined the Phillies just last week (August 31) on a waiver claim from the Pittsburgh Pirates. The 6-4, 250-pound Dominican native has combined to go 3-5 with a 2.79 ERA in a National League-leading 67 games between Pittsburgh (65 games) and Philadelphia (2 games) in 2017. Nicasio, has fanned 61 batters in his 61.1 innings of work this season, walked only 18, and he’s allowed just four home runs while holding the opposition to .218 batting mark, including a .200 average vs. left-handed batters. His 21 Holds rank T5th in the National League this season and his 1.09 WHIP is ranked 15th among all N.L. relievers.
Nicasio, who debuted with the Colorado Rockies in 2011, has appeared in 260 career games (82 starts) with the Rockies (2011-14), Los Angeles Dodgers (2015), Pittsburgh (2016-17) and Philadelphia (2017), putting together a career mark of 35-37 with a 4.60 ERA in 618.2 innings pitched.
A free-agent at season’s end, Nicasio will make every effort to join the Cardinals in San Diego for the conclusion of their road trip that includes games both tonightand tomorrow night. He would not be eligible for postseason play should the Cardinals qualify.
Alvarez, 22, was signed by the Cardinals as a non-drafted international free-agent on July 2, 2011 out of Santiago, Dominican Republic. The 5-11, 190-pound middle infielder batted a combined .248 with 5 HR’s and 28 RBI in 61 games between Springfield (AA) and the Gulf Coast League Cardinals (R) in 2017.
Nicasio has been assigned uniform no. 12.
