Cardinals Rumors: St. Louis needs bullpen help, and fast

The St. Louis Cardinals need bullpen help, to the tune of perhaps at least two relievers. And considering the current state of their bullpen, could use it fast.

After a strong start, the St. Louis Cardinals bullpen looked like it was poised to surprise. Then reality set in and it has become glaringly obvious that they need bullpen reinforcements (plural) before the trade deadline.

Just look at the Cardinals’ current bullpen setup. Their top two relievers are Ryan Helsley and Giovanny Gallegos followed by Nick Wittgren, Genesis Cabrera, T.J. McFarland, Andre Pallante, Kodi Whitley and Drew VerHagen. Alex Reyes, meanwhile, is out for the season while Jordan Hicks is on the Injured List and his return is uncertain.

To quote Joe Girardi: “It’s not what you want.” And adding 1-2 relievers before the trade deadline could prevent the Cardinals’ bullpen from falling apart. In fact, it could turn the unit into a strength, considering they still rank 17th in bullpen ERA (3.95).

If there was ever a year for the Cardinals to be aggressive at the trade deadline, it’s this year. Despite the poor bullpen performance, and slow starts from Nolan Arenado and Tyler O’Neill, they are still 32-26 and one game back in the National League Central. And like most years, they should have no shortage of bullpen options to choose from.

The teams that are likely to sell include the Washington Nationals, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates, Colorado Rockies, Arizona Diamondbacks, Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals, Detroit Tigers, Oakland A’s and Seattle Mariners, among others. It’s unlikely that they target an elite bullpen arm, so none of their top prospects (Nolan Gorman, Jordan Walker, Matthew Liberatore) will be in play in these discussions.

Which will surely be appealing to Mozeliak and, in all likelihood, would not require them to part with any of their top-10 or 15 prospects. And if he can do that and upgrade the Cardinals bullpen into a top-10 unit, it’s a move that could vault them past the Brewers in the division.