3 relievers the St. Louis Cardinals might pursue post-lockout

As soon as a new collective bargaining agreement is reached, the owners and players will get to work on readying their teams for 2022.

While we wait for MLB owners and the players union to hammer out a new collective bargaining agreement, it’s interesting to ponder what will happen once the agreement is reached. Who will the St. Louis Cardinals seek out to bolster their roster going into a crucial 2022 season?

It’s believed the Cardinals will see out a couple of relievers. The role of those relievers isn’t clear as long as they are effective. After a 2021 season filled with health and effectiveness issues among the staff, it is good to see the Cardinals recognize that need and are making plans to address the need.

The current bullpen features Giovanny Gallegos, Genesis Cabrera, T.J. McFarland, Ryan Helsley, Jordan Hicks, and Alex Reyes.

Gallegos became closer towards the end of 2021 after stepping up huge for the team. It is believed he will be the first choice for closer in 2022 unless someone else steps forward. Alex Reyes was an All-Star closer for the team but ultimately crashed and burned toward the end of the season. As Gallegos became the closer, Reyes was finding some success in lower leverage situations.

The Cardinals season came to a stunning end when former manager Mike Shildt put Reyes in the ultimate high leverage situation in the tenth inning of a win-or-go-home NL Wild Card game. Reyes gave up a bomb of a walk-off homer to the Dodgers’ Chris Taylor, sending the Cardinals home for the off-season.

The Cardinals likely have a bitter taste in their mouth over the way their 2021 season ended. It is likely kindling to the fire the club has to win it all in 2022.

Let’s take a look at some veteran options the team could consider when looking to bolster their bullpen in 2022.