The St. Louis Cardinals have agreed to a deal with the Miami Marlins to acquire former closer Steve Cishek. The Marlins will receive Double-A right-handed pitcher Kyle Barraclough in return. The move gives the Cardinals another late-inning option despite Cishek’s recent struggles. Prior to this season, Cishek had never had an ERA above 3.17, and he had converted 94 of his 108 save opportunities, which is good for a career save percentage of 87 percent.

The good news about Cishek’s current 4.50 ERA and 1.59 WHIP is that he has only allowed a run in one of his last 13 outings, which goes all the way back to June 14. It appears that he has figured things out from his early-season struggles and could be ready for a great stretch run to the playoffs. With his experience late in games, he will be a welcomed addition to a bullpen that doesn’t typically use one guy to set things up for their closer Trevor Rosenthal.

Barraclough is a 25-year-old reliever who hasn’t pitched above Double-A. For his career, he has a 2.82 ERA and a solid .218 opposing batting average, but his biggest issue has been command. In 137 minor-league innings, Barraclough has walked 78 batters, and he only has a 167/78 strikeout-to-walk ratio, which will need to be improved if he’s going to make any sort of impact in MLB.

The Cardinals clearly won this trade, as they get a reliever who could be the final piece to the puzzle of a tremendous season without giving up a top prospect, as Barraclough isn’t even in the team’s top 30 prospects. This deal is a perfect example of how the Cardinals have become the best organization in baseball.

Jason Fletcher is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @JasonFletcher25, “Like” him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google+.