The Cardinals and Mariners got together on a minor trade yesterday, with St. Louis acquiring right-hander from the Mariners, according to . The return headed to Seattle in exchange for OBrien is not currently known, but figures to be insignificant. OBrien is slated to hit minor league free agency if not added to the 40-man roster. While the Cardinals have not announced that OBriens contract will be selected, they have just 38 players on their 40-man meaning no corresponding move would be nece sary to do so. OBrien, 28, was an eighth-round pick in the 2017 draft by Tampa Bay. He pitched well in three Sean Elliott Jersey seasons with the organization while seeing time as both a starter and reliever. By the 2019 season, he had reached Double-A with a 3.93 ERA and 24.2% strikeout rate in 68 2/3 innings of work at the level. Though OBrien did not pitch in the 2020 campaign thanks to the cancelled minor league season, he was swapped to the Reds in a deadline deal that brought to the Rays that summer. OBrien spent almost the entire 2021 season at the Reds Triple-A affiliate in Louisville, where he struggled somewhat to a 4.55 ERA acro s 23 appearances (22 starts). Despite that uninspiring performance, OBrien was called up to make his big league debut near the end of September. Unfortunately, his sole appearance in the big leagues during the 2021 season did not go well as he walked three and allowed two home runs in just 1 1/3 innings of work. Cincinnati retained OBrien on their 40-man roster throughout the 2021-22 offseason but ultimately designated the then-27-year-old righty for a signment in April in order to make room for left-hander on the 40-man roster. That led the Reds to ship OBrien to Seattle, where the Mariners had an open 40-man roster spot to offer the righty. While he returned to the big leagues in May and pitched a scorele s inning out of the bullpen, OBriens 2022 season left plenty to be desired overall as he struggled to convert to full-time relief, posting a 7.03 ERA in 39 2/3 innings of work at the Triple-A level after being outrighted off the clubs 40-man roster in June. Difficult as the 2022 season was, OBrien returned to the Mariners in 2023 and pitched far better than he had the year before. Though he did not manager to make his way back onto the 40-man roster, OBrien dominated the hitter-friendly PCL to the tune of a 2.29 ERA in 55 innings of work this year while striking out a whopping 37.7% of batters faced. Given those fantastic numbers at the Triple-A level this year, its easy to see why the Cardinals, who are , would be interested in taking a chance on OBrien and finding out if his strong 2023 season in the minors could carry over to the big leagues in 2024. Keita Bates-Diop Jersey