St. Louis Cardinals: With Gallegos out, who is in at closer?

The St. Louis Cardinals will likely be without Giovanny Gallegos for the foreseeable future.

The St. Louis Cardinals aren’t getting any special treatment this season. In the middle of the most grueling schedule of any team, the Cards just lost their rock at the end of games.

Giovanny Gallegos had been on a tear in 2020. Over his 12 games before Thursday, the righty had an ERA of just 1.59 over 11.1 innings. Four hits, two runs, and two walks allowed were offset by 14 strikeouts over that time. The Cardinals missed Gallegos at the beginning of the season because of a late arrival to the team, but when he was active he calmed the waters for a bullpen that lacks a proven option at the end of games.

Sadly though, on September 10, we saw a very different Gallegos and he was clearly not himself in the second game against Detroit. With one walk and three earned runs allowed by Gallegos in that final half-inning, the Cardinals went on to lose the game and quickly placed Gallegos on the IL with a groin strain.

In his absence, the Cardinals have not named anyone closer and may never do so. However, they still will need someone to step up and be de-facto closer.

If you would’ve asked me earlier this year who I believed should be closer without Gallegos or Carlos Martinez in the role, Ryan Helsley would’ve been near the top of my choices. Now, not so much. Helsley’s bad peripherals from 2019 are coming home to roost in 2020.

Even though Helsley was one of the players afflicted with COVID-19, he has allowed three runs in seven innings this year. His three strikeouts can’t offset his three walks and seven hits allowed. I still think Helsley has plenty of room to grow with the Cards, I just don’t have him down as closer now.

Another name I would’ve brought up was Junior Fernandez. Fernandez showed some flashes of stuff last season in his 11.2 innings, but this year hasn’t been on the MLB team enough to show anything. Like Helsley, Fernandez tested positive for COVID and after he was activated and allowed six runs in one inning on August 29, he was optioned and hasn’t been recalled. He also won’t be a fit for the job.

Even without these two, there are still options that could step up.

Alex Reyes

If Alex Reyes’ career has taught us anything, it’s that counting on him for production won’t work out well. I don’t mean that as a dig against Reyes, but it is the truth. To this point, any time the team has carved out a role for the former top prospect, lack of performance or injury has gotten in the way. However, now might finally be the time we can count on him.

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Quietly, Reyes has had a productive season. Before the year, the general consensus was that the only requirement for Reyes to have a “good year” would be for him to stay healthy for all of it. Obviously, that still holds, but desperate times may call for desperate measures when it comes to the 26-year-old.

In 13.1 innings, Reyes has just a 2.70 ERA (3.64 FIP) with nine walks and 17 strikeouts. 6.1 walks per nine may not fly in the ninth, but Reyes has the stuff to whiff his way out of trouble. Reyes also hasn’t walked anyone in his last 3.2 innings.

This is the best we’ve seen Reyes look in a while and it might be the time to try and ride his health into a bigger role for the flamethrower.

John Gant

Gant certainly isn’t the most exciting option, but he has quietly been a stud this year. In 14 innings, Gant has allowed just three earned runs, putting his ERA at 1.93. His 2.12 FIP suggests he’s for real and he’s proved he can handle a bigger role.

I’m not exactly sure how Gant does it, but his 18:7 K:BB ratio is plenty good for a ninth-inning role.

Gant hasn’t gotten much love from Cardinal nation this year, and there isn’t any reason to believe he can’t succeed as a closer.

Andrew Miller

Despite his rough 2019, Andrew Miller has looked much better in 2020. The lanky lefty has given up three earned runs in 7.1 innings with a 6:2 K:BB ratio, pitching mostly in the seventh inning. At this point in 2020, Miller’s strikeout pitch has really gone away (7.4 K/9 in 2020), but that doesn’t mean he can’t’ close out games. Looking past Miller’s 3.68 ERA, his 2.78 FIP tells a kinder story in his super small sample size in 2020.

In his career, Miller has 61 saves including two this year already. As the leading lefty out of the ‘pen, he could easily slide into the closer role he’s been in before. The shoulder fatigue that led Miller to be placed on the IL is still an issue we shouldn’t ignore, but riding the wave of his bounce-back season may be the safe choice for closer.

There is a whole philosophical argument you could get into about whether or not a team actually needs a closer, but when it comes down to it, someone is going to have to take the ball in the ninth. While my top pick would be Gant, I wouldn’t be surprised if it is closer “by committee” until Gallegos returns.