HOUSTON — After spending the offseason revamping and repopulating the right side of the bullpen to completely reengineer how to dictate late innings, the Cardinals must now resign to the reality they’ll never know how that group would have looked, right down to its depth.
They’ll have to find relief elsewhere on the roster, for starters.
Keynan Middleton will have season-ending surgery to repair the flexor tendon in his right arm next week. A compelling late addition to the group at the start of spring training because of a wicked change-up and experience as a closer, Middleton won’t throw a pitch for the Cardinals in 2024 after starting the year on the injured list with a forearm strain and deciding, after consultation with a specialist and Cardinals medical officials Monday, that surgery is the best option to repair damage and give him a chance to compete in 2025.
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Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol confirmed Tuesday afternoon that Middleton would have surgery. That assures his long-term absence from a role where the Cardinals have already been buffeted by other injuries. Four right-handed relievers from the depth chart are currently on the injured list; a fifth, Andre Pallante, is getting an audition for the rotation. The availability in a close game Monday night of only right-hander Andrew Kittredge, the headliner of the relievers added this past winter, contributed to lefty JoJo Romero’s task of facing Houston’s right-handed hitters. Two of them hit home runs to flip a Cardinals lead into the Astros’ 7-4 victory.
The Cardinals’ eagerness to showcase a reboot for the bullpen has, due to injury, turned to urgency to find alternatives.
“You go into the offseason and you look at what last year looked like and how you wanted to address what went on,†Marmol said. “You go and get Kittredge and (Ryan) Fernandez and Middleton in order to have some right-handed options that are changeable in leverage (innings). We’ve missed Middleton all year due to injury. So we’ve been able to piece it together. When you look at the remaining part of this year, you’re going to have to figure out ways to not overuse Kittredge and still trust somebody when the score dictates it or when Kittredge is down for the day.â€
Riley O’Brien and Nick Robertson, two right-handed relievers acquired this winter to provide depth for setup spots, are making strides toward returns. O’Brien (forearm flexor strain) has thrown three bullpen sessions and is nearing a rehab assignment with a minor league affiliate.
Robertson (shoulder inflammation) has started a throwing program.
Marmol described Robertson’s low walk rate and 34% strikeout rate against right-handed batters as “real,†and O’Brien has high-powered stuff with a deceptive wrinkle to his delivery. They were the lightning bolts the Cardinals hoped to bottle as alternative late-inning options for the Kittredge-Middleton causeway to closer Ryan Helsley.
Middleton signed a one-year, $5 million deal in early February to complete the Cardinals’ refortification. The team has a $6 million option with a $1 million buyout for 2025 on the right-hander.
Fernandez, a Rule 5 pickup from Boston, has thrown his way into the spot Middleton was supposed to own. Kyle Leahy has recently started to emerge as a right-hander in close, late and chase spots.
That duo will become more prominent until injured relievers return.
And that could bring the Cardinals back to where they began the offseason.
The number of leads lost in the late innings last year prompted the Cardinals to rewrite their options to shepherd leads to Helsley. One member of the group they brought back is also one of the most-used relievers in the majors in that setup role over the past five seasons. Giovanny Gallegos struggled in his first 13 games and nine innings this season before going on the IL with a shoulder ailment. He was scheduled to make a second rehab appearance with Class AAA Memphis on Tuesday, and pending his recovery, his return is on the horizon.
He has the track record. He has the experience. He will soon have the opportunity.
All those moves the Cardinals made to add new options and, given how eroded the right side of the bullpen has been by injury, their bullpen scramble for an answer will take them right back to someone familiar, Gallegos.
Roycroft returns to mix
Or someone unexpected.
Chris Roycroft, a former college basketball player who was in major league spring training and has zoomed into the Cardinals’ plans, rejoined the active roster Tuesday in Houston. The Cardinals had been waiting for his mandatory minor league stay to expire so they could bring him and his high-octave fastball back to the majors. They had demoted him two weeks ago to get a fresh arm. He overwhelmed Triple-A in that time.
The Cardinals wanted Roycroft to pitch multiple innings as they waited the minimum days to promote him. He twice pitched two innings and in three appearances for the Redbirds did not allow a run and struck out seven in 5â…“ innings.
He collected two saves.
“We like what we saw out of Roycroft,†Marmol said. “I think it’s an interesting arm. Firepower. Mix is good. It’s uncomfortable for a righty. And with (Houston) shooting the righties against Pallante as we thought they would, it gives us an extra arm.â€
To make room on the roster for Roycroft, the Cardinals optioned Ryan Loutos to Class AAA Memphis. The Washington University alumnus made history as the school’s first graduate to pitch in the majors, and he allowed only an inherited runner to score in two appearances.
Matz nears rehab road back
Lefty Steven Matz will start Thursday for Class AAA Memphis and begin his rehab route back to the rotation after what will be a month spent recovering from a lower back injury. Matz is scheduled to throw two innings or somewhere between 40 and 45 pitches — what would be the first or second start of spring training for a member of the rotation.
Matz has been able to successfully complete two high-intensity bullpen sessions, maintain his velocity and recover without soreness or weakness. That standard schedule for a starter on a rehab assignment is to increase pitch counts by 15 each time out. That would put Matz ready to throw around 90 pitches by mid-June.
Winn’s sore back, etc.
During his at-bat late in Monday’s loss, Masyn Winn left the batter’s box to meet with the team’s athletic trainer. The concern, Marmol later confirmed, was the ongoing back pain that the rookie shortstop had played through at times for several weeks.
Winn stayed in the game to complete the at-bat and field his position, and he was in the lineup Tuesday without any limitations.
“Some days it grabs him more than others,†Marmol said. “We’ll continue to be smart with it.â€
- With a double Monday, Paul Goldschmidt extended his on-base streak to 20 consecutive games. His longest with the Cardinals is 46 in 2022, and the longest of the season by a Cardinal is Nolan Arenado’s 25 earlier in the schedule.
- Brandon Crawford, who is likely to spell Winn on Wednesday, has a 14-game hitting streak against the Astros that dates back to May 2015. The longest hitting against the Astros by a Cardinal belongs to Lou Brock, who had at least a hit in 20 consecutive games against Houston from 1968 to ’69.