Cardinals castoff reliever finding success while team bullpen struggles

The St. Louis Cardinals have been able to find success up and down the lineup. The offense has been contributing, the starting pitching has been reliable (albeit a bit short-winded), and the defense has been superb. The bullpen, however, has been a bit of a weak spot for the team.

Outside of Riley O'Brien, JoJo Romero, and Gordon Graceffo, it's been tough to find reliable relievers. Ryne Stanek has a 9.00 ERA, Justin Bruihl has a 5.87 ERA, and Matt Svanson has a 10.34 ERA. These middle relievers have been the primary reason the Cardinals have struggled after the starter comes out of the game and before O'Brien, Graceffo, and Romero can get into the game.

The Cardinals entered the 2026 season with a lack of left-handed relief options. The signing of Justin Bruihl was an attempt to offset these shortcomings, but he's been rough. The Cardinals' left-handed relievers rank 18th in ERA (4.86), 26th in FIP (5.25), and 29th in strikeout percentage (11.7%). Help is needed in this department.

While St. Louis did just claim left-handed reliever Luis Peralta, there is one reliever whom the Cardinals had under control who would be quite helpful right now.

Former St. Louis Cardinals reliever John King is having an excellent 2026 season.

John King, whom the Cardinals non-tendered back in November, has been excellent for the Miami Marlins. King is sporting a minuscule 0.66 ERA through 13.2 innings. He's struck out 13 batters, walked only one, and has recorded three holds to start the year.

When King was non-tendered in November, the idea was that this would clear a spot for young pitchers to fill the void. However, King was one of the two lefties with any meaningful experience for the Cardinals. Without wanting to promote top starting pitching prospects, the Cardinals would be severely lacking in southpaw experience out of the bullpen.

Of those who were non-tendered, John King was the only player who was arbitration-eligible. MLB Trade Rumors projected him to receive $2.1 MM via arbitration.

Let's not pretend that John King was an outstanding reliever for the Cardinals; after all, they did non-tender him. King threw 127 innings of relief across two-and-a-half seasons with St. Louis. He had a 3.33 ERA, but that's primarily bolstered by a 1.45 ERA in 2023 and a 2.85 ERA in 2024.

In 2025, King was prone to giving up hits and the long ball. He finished that campaign with a 4.66 ERA across 48.1 innings, a 12.1 H/9 ratio, and a 1.5 HR/9 ratio. He struck out only 12.6% of batters last year while walking 6.3%.

This year, King has found his touch, striking out 26% of batters while walking 10% of them. John King is leaning on a potent sinker-slider combination, and his changeup is generating whiffs at a 474.% clip.

Based on John King's career stats, this resurgence is likely to come back down to earth. However, the Cardinals' bullpen has been in turmoil lately, and a reliable southpaw would make a huge difference for Oli Marmol and the team's relief corps.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow