Alex Reyes’ injury reaffirms Cardinals need to trade for bullpen help

Alex Reyes’ injury reaffirms that the St. Louis Cardinals need to trade for bullpen help come the August 2 trade deadline.

Entering Tuesday, the St. Louis Cardinals ranked 13th in baseball in bullpen ERA (3.58). They have gotten strong contributions from Ryan Helsley, who has emerged as one of baseball’s best relievers, while Nick Wittgren has seemingly pitched everyday and Giovanny Gallegos has been a solid option in the ninth inning.

But with Alex Reyes needing shoulder surgery that will end his 2022 season, as first reported by John Denton of MLB.com, the Cardinals could use another high-leverage bullpen arm. And there figures to be no shortage of options available at the trade deadline.

It’s still too early to determine who all will be available, of course, considering that there’s over two months remaining before the deadline on Aug. 2. But the teams who figure to be in position to sell come the deadline include the Colorado Rockies, Arizona Diamondbacks (Mark Melancon?), Cincinnati Reds (Hunter Strickland?), Pittsburgh Pirates, Washington Nationals, Miami Marlins, Boston Red Sox (Matt Strahm?), Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals, Detroit Tigers, Seattle Mariners and Oakland A’s.

Which should give Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak plenty of options. But as last year’s trades for J.A. Happ and Jon Lester underscored, he doesn’t do the moves that most outsiders predict. And both trades worked like a charm, as each pitcher provided meaningful innings during a stunning playoff run, and it earned Mozeliak the benefit of the doubt at the trade deadline this season when it comes to upgrading the bullpen and potentially adding another starter/bat.

As far as Reyes, it’s the latest setback in what has been a promising, yet frustrating career. Last season, he was arguably the best reliever in baseball during the first half of the season. He struggled mightily in the second half and entered the 2022 season as a possibility for the rotation. But a shoulder injury suffered during spring training turned out to be something worse – and ended his 2022 season while putting some doubt about his long-term outlook in the minds of the Cardinals.

It also made their need for bullpen help that much more pressing, and figures to be a priority come the trade deadline. It should be a busy next couple months for Mozeliak.