SAN DIEGO -- The Cardinals made a rare September trade to upgrade their bullpen for the stretch run on Wednesday by acquiring free-agent-to-be reliever Juan Nicasio from the Phillies. In exchange, St. Louis sent Minor League infielder Eliezer Alvarez, the organization's 19th-ranked prospect, to Philadelphia.Though he won't be eligible for a postseason roster should the Cards advance to the playoffs, Nicasio will help settle a bullpen that has been scrambling to fill various roles since a mid-August injury to Trevor Rosenthal. 
Nicasio, 31, has made a National League-high 67 appearances this year. The first 65 of those came with the Pirates, who lost the right-handed reliever to the Phils after placing him on irrevocable outright waivers at the end of August.That decision, Pirates general manager Neal Huntington explained at the time, was made in an effort to try and find a landing place for Nicasio with an American League contender. What Huntington said he hoped to avoid was exactly what happened -- that Nicasio ended up with a team considered to be a "direct competitor" to Pittsburgh.
The Bucs, who received only salary relief when the Phillies took Nicasio, will get to see their former setup man this weekend in St. Louis, where the two clubs will meet in a three-game series.
Nicasio, who is attempting to join the Cardinals in San Diego before the conclusion of the team's road trip, has posted a 2.79 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP over 61 1/3 innings this season. He's struck out 16, walked 18 and held opponents to a .218 batting average. Nicasio's 21 Holds rank as the fifth most in the NL.
Alvarez, 22, spent the majority of the 2017 season with Double-A Springfield, where the middle infielder hit .247/.321/.382 in 56 games. Alvarez, who signed with the organization out of the Dominican Republic in 2011, had been added to the team's 40-man roster last fall in order to be protected in the Rule 5 Draft. Nicasio will now take that roster spot.
Jenifer Langosch has covered the Cardinals for MLB.com since 2012, and previously covered the Pirates from 2007-11. Follow her on Twitter and Facebook. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.Jenifer Langosch / MLB.com
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