The St. Louis Cardinals are reconsidering their bullpen strategy, having made minimal changes this season. With limited options available, they are exploring potential call-ups to refresh their relief pitching.
Key points
Cardinals have made minimal bullpen moves this season
Matt Pushard is expected to return from injury soon
Limited options are available for bullpen call-ups
Chris Roycroft shows mixed performance in AAA
St. Louis Cardinals
WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 22: Chris Roycroft #58 of the St. Louis Cardinals throws a pitch during a spring training game against the Houston Astros at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches on February 22, 2026 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images) | Getty Images
WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 22: Chris Roycroft #58 of the St. Louis Cardinals throws a pitch during a spring training game against the Houston Astros at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches on February 22, 2026 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Thereās been a strategy in baseball of cycling through bullpen arms to get maximum freshness from your fringier relievers. The Cardinals utilized this to some extent last year, but theyāve mostly abandoned it this year. Iāve seen some complaints about it. We are in late April and thereās really only one instance of using a bullpen shuttle to get a fresh arm and I donāt even really think it applies.
Theyāve made minimal bullpen moves in general. Matt Pushard required an IL trip a week into the season, and Gordon Graceffo took his place. About a week after that, the highly ineffective Chris Roycroft was sent down and Jared Shuster took his place. Shuster didnāt pitch for another six days, so I donāt think this counts. After he pitched back-to-back days, they called up Ryan Fernandez. Really the only instance of them cycling through bullpen arms.
When I posited this question to Tom Ackerman on the podcast, one of his explanations for why this might be the case was essentially thereās nothing to cycle through. Which is mostly true. The only reliever on the 40 man right now is Roycroft, and I donāt think people are clamoring for him to come back. But I kind of wanted to see for myself. What are the options? Do they really have nobody they could call up? So, letās look at the options: the candidates who could be mixed in at times when the bullpen needs some fresh innings. And then we can decide for ourselves whether or not one or more of these pitchers could be incorporated into more of a bullpen shuttle throughout the season.
**Matt Pushard, 28**
*AAA: 4 G, 4.2 IP, 10.5 K%, 15.8 BB%, 42.9 GB%, .214 BABIP, 1.93 ERA/5.29 FIP/7.30 xFIP*
Pushard will be back⦠and judging by how his rehab appearances are going, heāll use all 30 days of his rehab. Heās only been down for 12 days so far. He has slowly improved. He got his first strikeout on April 21st, his third rehab appearance, and yesterday he threw a perfect inning with a strikeout. But due to the nature of this season and frankly, the lack of bullpen depth in general, heāll be back. (His FIP and xFIP are not updated for last night, so both will improve)
Whenever they do call him up, the three pitchers with options are Gordon Graceffo, Matt Svanson, and Ryan Fernandez. Given the pecking order, the assumption is Fernandez goes down certainly, but heās barely used and if you really want to use a bullpen shuttle as intended, you send down someone who has pitched a bunch recently. Both Svanson and Graceffo are used all the time, so odds are good one of them will have pitched 3 of the last 4 days or something when they are cool with Pushard coming up. Unless Oli trusts Fernandez a whole lot more in the next 20 days or circumstances dictate heavy Fernandez usage in a short span.
**Chris Roycroft, 29**
*AAA: 8 G, 8 IP, 22.9 K%, 5.7 BB%, 70.8 GB%, .360 BABIP, 2.25 ERA/2.14 FIP/2.59 xFIP*
Iām not falling for this again. The term Quad A player typically refers to hitters who can dominate in AAA but then canāt make contact at the MLB level. You donāt see this as much with pitchers. Well, Roycroft is my new go-to example of a AAAA pitcher. Granted, he is pitching quite a bit better in AAA than he did last year, so there is that. And just by the nature of this season, he should get another crack at it. But yeah, he has reached ādo not trust his AAA statsā for me.
**Luis Gastelum, 24**
*AAA: 10 G, 14.1 IP, 19.7 K%, 18 BB%, 48.6 GB%, .162 BABIP, 2.70 ERA/4.81 FIP/5.21 xFIP*
Iāll be honest. I had kind of taken it for granted that Gastelum would be good in AAA. He hasnāt been good at all. Yes, I know his ERA is good. For literally the first time in his pro career, heās getting batted ball luck, which is something I guess. Heād been running .340 or greater BABIPs up to this point, so in that light, I suppose it makes sense heād eventually get lucky. But yeah he pitched yesterday too and walked a guy and didnāt strike anybody out, so his advanced stats will get even worse.
Heās not particularly close to getting promoted in my opinion, especially because heās more of a long-term play.
**Skylar Hales, 24**
*AAA: 9 G, 10 IP, 15.5 K%, 22.4 BB%, 57.6 GB%, .371 BABIP, 8.10 ERA/5.79 FIP/6.70 xFIP*
Woof. Okay. I think I would probably have to argue with a few people that Gastelum isnāt actually pitching well because of his good ERA. No issues on this one. This is awful. Heās getting groundballs, so thereās one positive. Heās pretty far away from getting the call-up.
**Scott Blewett, 30**
*AAA: 9 G, 14 IP, 30.6 K%, 9.7 BB%, 41.7 GB%, .394 BABIP, 5.14 ERA/4.96 FIP/3.61 xFIP*
Blewett has relatively strong K/BB numbers, but allowing a ton of homers and a high BABIP isnāt exactly the kind of thing you want to see from a guy with unimpressive MLB stats for his career. He doesnāt have options, so he would not be a very good shuttle guy anyway. And though he has 5 years of team control, heās not really a future guy either. Heās more Jared Shuster than someone to help keep the bullpen fresh.
**Jared Shuster, 27**
*AAA: 4 G, 8.2 IP, 23.1 K%, 0 BB%, 39.3 GB%, .407 BABIP, 6.23 ERA/3.50 FIP/4.33 xFIP*
Going to need to recalibrate here, because I am extremely thrown off by the seemingly not great xFIP despite not walking anybody and having a semi-respectable K rate. Due to a .407 BABIP and bad sequencing, he has a bad ERA, but I am surprised the advanced stats arenāt better. And itās because heās actually hit two guys. Okay, that makes more sense. Thatās basically a walk. A 5.1 BB/HBP% is still good, but with an average K rate and not many groundballs in a hitter friendly league, the xFIP certainly makes more sense. Heās still āthis is an emergency and we need 3 innings in a blowoutā which again due to the no options, not ideal for a bullpen shuttle.
**Tink Hence, 23**
*AAA: 8 G, 8.1 IP, 15.6 K%, 20 BB%, 53.6 GB%, .333 BABIP, 8.64 ERA/7.89 FIP/7.36 xFIP*
I have good news, sort of. Hence struck out two batters yesterday with no walks. He also allowed a run. This is good news, because I imagine his FIP and xFIP will see a nice boost, though they will still not be good at all. Heās going through something right now. I imagine they were hoping Hence could be a part of the bullpen shuttle, but that has not worked out even slightly so far. I really hope Hence can get some MLB innings in before the year is over.
**Hancel Rincon, 24**
*AAA: 6 G, 13.2 IP, 28.8 K%, 11.9 BB%, 47.1 GB%, .281 BABIP, 4.61 ERA/5.35 FIP/3.98 xFIP*
Iām not entirely sure what theyāre doing with Rincon to be honest, a guy I thought was a starting pitching prospect. And to be fair, he is pitching more than a relief prospect. Those are okay numbers. Certainly make me think he can be a bullpen threat at some point, if not right now. I kind of wonder if theyāre waiting for a spot to open up in the rotation because heās a lower priority starting pitching prospect. And since Dobbins will be getting the call-up, there is a spot opening up. I can see why they wouldnāt want to add him to the 40 yet. Those 13 innings are his only AAA innings.
**Max Rajcic, 24**
*AAA: 9 G, 18 IP, 25 K%, 9.2 BB%, 42.6 GB%, .340 BABIP, 2.50 ERA/3.50 FIP/4.10 xFIP*
Another uncertain role guy, but in Rajcicās case, I kind of understand if theyāve given up on him as a starter already. Iād say this is a pretty promising start to the season. I can see why they might want more of a sample, because he was really quite bad in his 11 starts last year at AAA. And if you make his K% a little worse and his BB% a little worse, which usually happens when you get promoted to the big leagues, thatās definitely a bad reliever. So Iām not sure his stats are good enough yet either.
**Bruce Zimmermann, 31**
*AAA: 5 GS, 33.9 K%, 5.5 BB%, 42.2 GB%, .373 BABIP, 3.96 ERA/4.39 FIP/2.95 xFIP*
My official pitch to have Zimmermann replace Justin Bruhl begins here. I donāt know how much more of a sample of games we need from Bruhl, but heās been about as bad as possible. Not really sure that experiment is worth continuing. Zimmerman, in the rotation in AAA, has struck out a third of batters. Heās left-handed by the way, if youāve never heard of this guy.
He did pitch in relief in 7 games in 2023, and he struck out 23% of batters and didnāt walk a batter in 13.1 IP. His ERA was 4.73, but his xFIP was 3.39, his xERA was 3.71, and his SIERA was 2.99. That was his only experience as a reliever, heās otherwise been a starter at the MLB level. He has a career 5.2 BB% as a starting pitcher in the majors. Even though he was bad, like bare minimum this guy probably isnāt walking guys. Unless thereās some potential in Bruhl that Iām not seeing, can you just give me a lefty that wonāt walk guys instead?
Yes, I know heās currently starting in Memphis and Iām pretty sure heās this yearās version of Curtis Taylor, but surely Zimmerman will not get called up ahead of Quinn Mathews if another starter is needed? Iād much rather Rincon start than Zimmermann and Iād much rather Zimmermann be in St. Louis than Bruhl at this point. If for some reason, we need Zimmermann to start, weāll just have a couple awkward games of getting him up to speed.
**Cade Winquest, 26**
*AAA: 3 G, 3 IP, 25 K%, 6.3 BB%, 37.5 GB%, .429 BABIP, 12.00 ERA/9.05 FIP/6.55 xFIP*
Winquest has actually hit 3 batters somehow in his 3 innings pitched, which is why his stats are so bad. Yeah apparently, I need to check the HBP stat when looking at pitchers more often, because this is the second pitcher whose K/BB ratio makes them look better than theyāve actually pitched. Reminder that Winquest started 8 games in AA last year, and thatās literally his only experience at AA or above, so he might not be ready for a minute. Just because the Yankees selected him in the Rule 5 did not make him MLB ready.
**Austin Love, 27**
*AA: 7 G, 10 IP, 45.7 K%, 5.7 BB%, 47.1 GB%, .200 BABIP, 2.70 ERA/3.77 FIP/2.48 xFIP*
Iām just going to beat this drum again. Why is he not in Memphis???
**Not an option because they are starting**
*Quinn Mathews*
*Pete Hansen*
*Brycen Mautz*
Starting pitching prospects are not automatically disqualified from being considered bullpen help, but I think these three qualify. For Mautz and Hansen, itās simply too early. They literally just got to Memphis. Certainly getting innings in the bullpen at the MLB level can be the next step for a prospect even if you intend for them to start, but I donāt think you do that for pitchers who are a month into AAA.
**Not an option because theyāre injured**
*Cooper Hjerpe*
*Tekoah Roby*
*Ixan Henderson*
*Sem Robberse*
*Zack Thompson*
*Packy Naughton*
*Victor Santos*
*Richard Fitts*
Believe it or not Victor Santos was one of the players in the Tyler OāNeill trade. Heās basically been injured since. Packy unfortunately probably had a season-ending injury. Roby is probably hurt for the year. If healthy, Robberse almost certainly would integrate into the bullpen like Graceffo has, with maybe a hope for the rotation in the future. We know Fitts is done for the year, it seems like Henderson might be too, though thereās been no word. In any case, Henderson fits into the too early group, having not yet pitched at Memphis.
Weāre probably going to see Hjerpe in relief whenever he comes back. He had Tommy John surgery early last season, so it seems like he should be able to return at some point this year. If he picks up where he left off, it certainly seems like he could get MLB hitters out in relief immediately. Obviously, heāll need all 30 days of rehab first. I donāt know what happened to Zack Thompson.
**Not an option because they pitched poorly**
*Gerson Moreno*
*Ian Bedell*
Covering my bases since I did actually share quite a few players who have bad stats, but those players had what we call expectations and I donāt think Moreno or Bedell really have that. Bedell has a 10.80 ERA with just about as bad of advanced stats, so as much as Iām rooting for the Mizzou grad, I kind of donāt think heāll be here in a month.
Q&A
What is the current bullpen situation for the St. Louis Cardinals?
The Cardinals have made minimal bullpen moves this season, relying heavily on a few pitchers and lacking depth in their relief options.
Who are the potential call-up candidates for the Cardinals' bullpen?
Candidates include Matt Pushard, Gordon Graceffo, Matt Svanson, and Ryan Fernandez, with Pushard expected to return soon from injury.
Why have the Cardinals abandoned the bullpen shuttle strategy this year?
The Cardinals have largely abandoned the bullpen shuttle due to a lack of viable options and the current performance of their relief pitchers.
How has Chris Roycroft performed in AAA this season?
Chris Roycroft has a 2.25 ERA and a 22.9% strikeout rate in AAA, but concerns remain about his ability to succeed at the MLB level.
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