Cardinals’ small trade offers a big clue about their offseason bullpen plans

Heading into the offseason, most people assume that the St. Louis Cardinals will be eager to improve their bullpen with bigger moves than they made last winter, but their recent trade for reliever Eduardo Rivera may reveal a different approach than fans might be expecting.

Sure, I expect the Cardinals to poke around the free agent reliever market and make a signing or two there, but those may feel closer to the Ryne Stanek move from last offseason than a bigger swing that some fans may be hoping for. I know most people aren't expecting them to go out and make a major, multi-year commitment to a reliever, but I'm also not sure that a larger one-year deal is what they are eager to explore either.

Rather, I get the sense that trades for arms like Rivera, a signing, maybe two, similar to what Stanek was last winter, and activity on the waiver wire may be their preference. The Cardinals seem to be more aggressive in adding a starting pitcher to their mix instead, much as they did with Dustin May last winter.

That approach could come back to bite them and their hopes to be a rising contender in 2027, but there are some benefits to not overextending in that area that have not been talked about much by the local media or fanbase yet.

Cardinals could use bullpen as a place for top prospects to get MLB experience in 2027

This approach may lead to a thinner-looking bullpen on Opening Day, but by the end of the season, it may lead to a group littered with electric arms from the farm system.

Let's say the Cardinals' Opening Day rotation is highlighted by a free agent signing, Kyle Leahy, Quinn Mathews, Michael McGreevy, and a piggyback of Tekoah Roby and Cooper Hjerpe. Down in Triple-A, they have Jurrangelo Cijnjte, Richard Fitts, Liam Doyle, Tanner Franklin, Mason Molina, Ixan Henderson, and Daniel Eagen ready to go. That is a good amount of pitching depth on the starting side to begin the year, and it projects a trade of Andre Pallante and moving Matthew Liberatore to the bullpen.

Their Opening Day bullpen could then look like some combination of Libeartore, Hjerpe, Rivera, a free agent signing, Riley O'Brien, Gordon Graceffo, Luis Gastelum, Justin Bruihl, Cade Winquest, Brycen Mautz, George Soriano, Ryan Fernandez, Hancel Rincon, and Matt Svanson. That would be an interesting group, filled with different names who could ascend into more established roles, but some of those names would likely also need to be replaced as the year goes on.

Well, by the time June, July, and August hit, even with injuries being a real thing that will happen to this team, there will likely be opportunities for any of Franklin, Doyle, Cijntje, Fitts, Molina, Eagen, Henderson, Brandon Clarke, or relief prospects like Sandro Santana, Michael Watson, and Randel Clemente, to join the Cardinals bullpen in key roles down the stretch as they await their turn to start games.

Imagine, during mid-to-late summer, a world where Doyle, Franklin, or any of those names above are covering multiple innings at the back end of games to shut down opposing offenses. That could be a scary unit. Sure, they shouldn't force anyone into those roles, and only do so if it also helps their development as starters, but they really are getting to a spot with their internal pitching options where there won't be enough starts to go around at the higher levels, so why not use those "bullets" in the Cardinals' bullpen?

If I were in the Cardinals' front office, I would be more aggressive than they were last offseason in adding bullpen arms, but not so much that it potentially blocks some of those young arms from stepping into those roles. I'd love to see them grab a bigger fish on a one-year deal than they did last offseason, along with a "Stanek-type", and then hunt the waiver wire or small trades for other options. But otherwise, I think it's fun to envision a world where some of these young arms make an impact in the bullpen in 2027.

Some other wrinkles to consider here are the CBA negotiations and when the season will start, as well as the arms the Cardinals have who will be on innings limits in 2027. Arms like Fitts, Roby, Hjerpe, and Henderson likely can't handle a full workload coming back from their injuries, so piggyback opportunities, multi-inning bullpen roles, or the Kyle Leahy plan may fit them best.

On the CBA side of things, if there ends up being a shortened spring training, or if the season starts late and MiLB baseball has been humming along before the MLB season even begins, it may increase the need for arms who can cover multiple innings of work as teams look to get their MLB rosters into "mid-season form" and avoid injuries. This could increase the value of going to those young starters for bullpen roles and actually sort of diminish the value of some traditional relievers a bit.

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