Cardinals should give Jurrangelo Cijntje chance to show off Brendan Donovan return with MLB debut

While the Memphis Redbirds are set to play postseason baseball next week, the St. Louis Cardinals should strongly consider pulling Jurraneglo Cijntje up to the Majors to make his MLB debut before the season is over.

The prize of their Brendan Donovan trade this offseason, Cijntje hasn't been sharp all year long, but he settled in at Double-A nicely and earned a promotion to Triple-A in July, and after taking some time to adjust to throwing the Major League ball, Cijntje has been awesome on the mound. Over his last seven starts, Cijntje has a 2.86 ERA with 41 strikeouts in 34.2 innings of work. His 28.9 K% and 7.7 BB% over that stretch are both extremely impressive, and he's sporting a 2.44 FIP as well.

For a Cardinals team still looking to see who will fit into their 2027 rotation, it would make a lot of sense to give Cijntje a look before the season ends.

Jurrangelo Cijntje could be a candidate for the Cardinals Opening Day rotation

Cijntje actually ranks second in all of minor league baseball this year in total strikeouts, just ahead of fellow Cardinals prospect Daniel Eagen, who was acquired in the Lars Nootbaar trade at the deadline. As the Cardinals build out their rotation for the future, their farm system is presenting them with a wave of arms that have the swing-and-miss they've been lacking for a long time, and getting Cijntje in front of Major League hitters can help him continue his development.

Cijntje has started off a bit slow each time he's been promoted to a new level, taking time to get comfortable before dealing at a high level. Part of the reason I think it would be a good idea to get him in front of Major League hitters now is for that very reason. Allow him to see what it's like to pitch on that stage, to see how his stuff plays, and to enter spring training with more confidence in his ability to shut down big-league hitters, or know what he needs to work on.

There are two drawbacks to adding Cijntje to the 40-man roster now, which has two open spots, that do have to be considered. The first is that Cijntje is not Rule 5 eligible until next December, so the Cardinals could keep him off the 40-man roster all offseason to make room for other names. He can still show up to camp as a non-roster invitee and earn a spot if he pitches well.

The second consideration is that if Major League Baseball does miss games next year, then having Cijntje on their 40-man roster means he cannot play in any minor league games during the lockout. If he remains off the 40-man roster, then Cijntje is still able to appear in games since he would be impacted by a different collective bargaining agreement.

Because of that, I would understand if the Cardinals decide to hold off on Cijntje's MLB debut, but it sure would be fun to see him soon, and honestly, may be what's best for his development.

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