The clock is ticking down on right-handed reliever Giovanny Gallegos’ time with the Cardinals. A workhorse in the bullpen since his acquisition ahead of the trade deadline in 2018, Gallegos arrived at the ballpark on Sunday and received abrupt and somewhat surprising news.
The Cardinals designated Gallegos for assignment before they beat Washington 4-3 in Sunday’s series finale at Busch Stadium. The club made the announcement less than three hours before first pitch. Gallegos, who pitched on Saturday night, was notified after 10 a.m. He hadn’t even cleared his locker before reporters entered the clubhouse before the game.
The Cardinals promoted right-hander Kyle Leahy to fill Gallegos’ spot on the active roster. However, the club opened a spot on the 40-man roster by designating Gallegos.
With the MLB trade deadline coming at 5 p.m. (ºüÀêÊÓƵ time) Tuesday, the roster spot could be needed to add a player in the coming days.
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“A very tough conversation,†Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said of his talk with Gallegos. “I have a ton of respect for Gio, and he’s thrown some meaningful pitches for this organization from the time we got him in the trade.
“He’s taken the ball a lot. He’s always said yes. He’s been extremely competitive and a big part of the clubhouse when it comes to just modeling what it looks like to be a leverage reliever. So yeah, I have a lot of respect for him. A tough conversation. He took it well.â€
The Cardinals could trade Gallegos before Tuesday’s deadline. The team acquiring him would take on the remaining portion of his salary for this season. If he is not dealt, the Cardinals could place him on unconditional release waivers, a likely scenario because he has accrued enough service time to reject an assignment to the minor leagues.
Gallegos, 32, entered this season leading Cardinals pitchers in saves, holds and strikeouts per nine innings since the club acquired him from the New York Yankees along with left-hander Chasen Shreve on July 28, 2018. Gallegos also had the lowest WHIP (walks plus hits per innings pitched) of any Cardinals pitcher during that span.
From the start of the 2019 season through the 2023 season, Gallegos’ 268 relief appearances were the 12th-most in the majors (the most by a pitcher exclusively with one team). He recorded 10 saves last season, which gave him three consecutive seasons of at least 10 saves (14 in 2021 and 2022).
“This is a guy that took care of his body extremely well,†Marmol said. “He never wanted to not be available. You can count on him in any situation, no ego. He was here strictly to help win however we saw fit, from Day 1, he was here until minutes ago. Just shows you, the other day he took the ball for three innings.â€
This year, Gallegos was having his least-productive season since he joined the Cardinals. Though his recent performance showed significant improvement since his return from the injured list.
In his first 13 appearances of this season, Gallegos posted a 12.00 ERA with 14 hits and seven walks allowed in nine innings. Of the 14 hits against him, five were home runs. Opponents posted a slash line of .342/.438/.829 against him from March 29 through May 5.
In his past eight appearances (11â…” innings), Gallegos allowed three runs on 10 hits and three walks and eight strikeouts. He posted a 2.31 ERA in that stretch, and opponents batted .233 against him with a .283 on-base percentage and a .395 slugging percentage in those eight games.
Cardinals reliever JoJo Romero, who was also a teammate of Gallegos’ on Team Mexico for the World Baseball Classic, described Gallegos as “an awesome friend†and asserted that Gallegos wouldn’t have trouble finding a new team.
“That’s the awesome thing of what he’s done in his big league career, being able to (take the ball) every day,†Romero said. “I’ve been kind of priding myself on that, making sure I’m ready every day and whatever that takes. It’s been a guy like (Gallegos), watching and seeing how goes about it, what he does. The last two years, his innings, appearances, everything — that’s what you want out of a bullpen guy.
“Seeing his process, all that, and how he goes about his business, it’s been awesome to watch. It’s helped me out in a lot of ways.â€
Marmol confident in youthful bullpen
The Cardinals’ three primary high-leverage relievers — All-Star closer Ryan Helsley, right-hander Andrew Kittredge and the left-hander Romero — are the most experienced members of their relief corps. Helsley and Kittredge have more than 200 appearances in the majors each, while Romero has appeared in more than 100 games.
Left-hander John King, acquired from Texas at last year’s trade deadline, has now pitched in parts of five seasons in the majors, and he has made more than 140 appearances.
However, the Cardinals are also relying on a crop of relievers including rookies Ryan Fernandez, Chris Roycroft and Leahy. They’re also relying on left-hander Matthew Liberatore, who went into this season as a full-time reliever for the first time. However, Libertore has still made six starts this season.
Is the lack of experience a concern that must be addressed before the trade deadline passes? Well, Marmol expressed optimism in the current group.
“I do think their skill set supersedes their experience at the moment,†Marmol said. “And we have other veterans that are constantly investing in those young guys to make sure they understand what this looks like. So because of our mix, I still feel good about it.â€
Matz, Edman updates
Cardinals left-hander Steven Matz is scheduled to begin a minor league rehab assignment on Thursday. He’ll likely pitch two innings or up to 30 pitches. Matz has been on the IL because of a lower back strain since May 1. He initially started a rehab assignment in June, and he made three appearances before the Cardinals shut him down again due to lingering soreness.
- Infielder/outfielder Tommy Edman continued his minor league rehab assignment on Sunday night with Double-A Springfield (Missouri) and was 0 for 5, with four strikeouts, in his team's 9-0 loss to Corpus Christi. On the injured list since the start of the season following offseason wrist surgery, Edman had appeared in eight games with Springfield and is hitting .207. He has served exclusively as a designated hitter but is slated to play the field for the first time on Tuesday.
- Right-handed reliever Riley O’Brien, who has been on the injured list because of a flexor strain since Mach 29, made his fourth appearance with Triple-A Memphis on Sunday. He allowed one run on one hit and two walks in two-thirds of an inning. He began his rehab assignment on July 20. He’s slated to pitch again on Wednesday, depending upon how his body responds to Sunday’s outing.