Cardinals make surprise shuffle to their bullpen, recall two relievers to St. Louis

The St. Louis Cardinals open up a three-game home series against the New York Mets on Friday and will be doing so with some extra arms in the bullpen. After a lengthy four-game set against the Cincinnati Reds, the Cardinals opted to replenish their relief corps by bringing up some familiar names from Memphis.

The Cardinals recalled Chris Roycroft and Roddery Munoz from Triple-A Memphis.

Chris Roycroft, who made the Opening Day roster out of camp, will be returning to St. Louis after experiencing massive struggles to start the year. A decent middle-relief option last season, Roycroft was handed the same role in 2025 but could not find that same success in seven outings. In 5.2 innings out of the Cardinal bullpen, the 6'8 righty put up a 7.94 ERA with six hits and an alarming six walks with four strikeouts. Two of those outings resulted in Roycroft taking the loss, and with the Cardinals playing so many close games, it got to the point that manager Oliver Marmol was unable to find opportunities for Roycroft to get right. This led to his demotion to Memphis, where he looked to regain more of his 2024 form after losing 1.5mph on his fastball with the big league club.

Roycroft struggled after his initial demotion, but after his first two outings in Triple-A, he did not allow a run or a walk in his next four innings of work, including a two-inning performance on April 29. In his last two appearances, Roycroft notched saves for the Redbirds but will most likely fill the bridge role to late-inning arms Kyle Leahy, Phil Maton, and closer Ryan Helsley.

Joining Roycroft on the shuttle to St. Louis is Roddery Munoz, who was the one initially called up to take Roycroft's spot on the roster. Munoz had a decent start in Memphis but struggled with his command, as has been the case so far in his short professional career, but the 25-year-old was still called upon for a fresh look in the Cardinals' bullpen. In his first stint with the Cardinals, Munoz got into three games, covering 2.2 innings and allowing three earned runs that all came in one outing. He was sent back to Memphis in mid-April and has thrown in four games since that transaction. While the command improved, he was hit around for five runs in 5.1 innings with only three strikeouts. The hard-throwing Munoz covered multiple innings in two of his four outings.

Heading back down to Memphis to complete the moves are relievers Matt Svanson and Riley O'Brien, whom we will most likely see back in St. Louis a time or two during the regular season. Svanson performed well in his first taste of big league action, putting up a 3.18 ERA in five innings. He had not allowed a run until his last outing against the Reds, when he was called upon early in the final game after a rain delay knocked Matthew Liberatore out after only three innings. Svanson covered two innings, giving up two runs on two hits, with two walks and two strikeouts.

Also returning to the minors is Riley O'Brien, who also had to take some of the heat in the game against the Reds after a scoreless first two outings. In his last appearance, he threw 1.2 innings after not completing a full inning since being recalled, and he gave up three runs on a homer, a walk, and a hit batter but struck out two while sitting in the upper 90s with his fastball. In his seven innings with Memphis prior to his promotion, O'Brien struck out an astounding 14 batters against only three walks. The 30-year-old righty has plenty of intrigue but must stay healthy and be able to command the strike zone.