Indians trade Justin Masterson to Cardinals for prospect James Ramsey

The Indians have traded starting pitcher Justin Masterson to the St. Louis Cardinals for prospect James Ramsey.

Ramsey is a 24-year-old outfielder who bats lefty and throws righty. He was St. Louis' 1st round pick in the 2012 MLB draft. he has spent most of the last two years playing in Double-A for the Springfield Cardinals of the Texas League.

In 2013 his batting line there was .251/.356/.424. In 2014 he has improved on those numbers, and is currently batting .300/.389/.527, with 13 home runs and 14 doubles in 243 at bats. At 24, he's neither young or old for that level, but it's nice to see that he's hitting well this season.

Ramsey is ranked #6 on the top 20 Cardinals prospects list MLB.com released earlier this week, with an overall grade of 50, which would put him in a 6-way tie behind only Francisco Lindor and Clint Frazier in the Tribe's system. MLB.com's comments on him include:

Ramsey draws a healthy amount of walks and has plus speed, though he's not a big baserunning threat. He puts his wheels to good use in center field, and he also has enough arm strength to handle right field.

He doesn't sound like a world beater, but the Indians weren't going to get anyone like that for two months of a pitcher who's been injured and struggling this season. I'm a little surprised the front office didn't get a pitcher back instead of another outfielder, but Ramsey seems like a pretty decent return, and unlike Frazier and Bradley Zimmer, Ramsey could be ready to help the team in 2015.