Ex-Red Sox Prospect Has Simple Reaction To Being Traded For Steven Matz

Blaze Jordan is taking his talents to St. Louis.

Late Wednesday night, the Boston Red Sox traded the corner-infield prospect to the St. Louis Cardinals for left-handed pitcher Steven Matz. Jordan was floated in offseason trade rumors involving Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado, so his inclusion in the Matz trade wasn’t surprising.

The 22-year-old offered a simple reaction shortly after news of the deal broke.

“St. Louis let’s do it!!” Jordan wrote on X.

A third-round pick in the 2020 MLB Draft, Jordan joined the Red Sox as a viral star with a reputation for hitting jaw-dropping home runs as an amateur. However, throughout his professional career, Jordan has established himself as more of a contact hitter with impressive exit velocity than a true power-first prospect.

Jordan was viewed as a middling prospect last year after an unimpressive season with Double-A Portland. But, to his credit, Jordan rebounded this season with a .308 average, 12 homers and an .872 OPS across 88 combined games for Portland and Triple-A Worcester before the trade.

That Jordan rehabbed his prospect status to the point he was a legitimately valuable trade chip — ranked 19th by SoxProspects.com after entering the season 32nd — should be viewed as a win for him and the Red Sox’s player-development apparatus.

As for Matz, he posted a 3.44 ERA (2.87 FIP) and a 1.182 WHIP in 32 appearances, including two starts, before the trade. He likely will serve in a high-leverage relieving role for the Red Sox while adding emergency depth to the starting rotation.