Former Cardinal makes three elite picks for the Cardinals' 2027 bullpen

The St. Louis Cardinals desperately need bullpen help. The back end of the Cardinals bullpen was about as trustworthy as Bernie Madoff. Fortunately, former Redbird Lance Lynn is already eyeing a few names. 

On the Cardinal Territory podcast with Jim Hayes, Lynn and fellow former Cardinal Kyle Gibson discussed how the team should address the bullpen. 

“I don’t think you’re gonna get David Bednar for cheap, but I like Pete Fairbanks, right? I think you might be able to get that guy, and he’s nasty when he’s right,” said Hayes. 

“And you’re looking at a guy coming off surgery in Fairbanks where you might get him for a one-year prove-it deal,” Lynn replied. “That goes in with what I was thinking about Evan Phillips coming from LA. He’s in his second year removed from surgery, and I think that he’s a guy who's perfect for that back end. Obviously a former teammate of mine, too, who fits what Dusty Blake and Oliver Marmol would be about in how they go about preparing and doing things like that.” 

Lynn continued, “And then I’m looking at lefties. If you’re looking at a lefty, in my opinion, you’re looking at a guy who can get you the seventh, eighth, or close—like a high-leverage guy. It would be awesome if we could get JoJo Romero back. That would be huge not only for the rapport that he’s had in St. Louis, but also just for that bullpen. But he might be too expensive, so I’m gonna go with, like, a Jose Alvardo that might be a prove-it deal for a lefty that has stuff, right?” 

Lynn finished by acknowledging that pitchers like Ryan Yarbrough, although a good fit in their own right, accomplish different things and might not fit as well in the later innings. He feels the Cardinals can supplement bulk work internally. 

His final list rests as: Evan Phillips (RHP), Pete Fairbanks (RHP), and Jose Alvarado (LHP). 

Let’s dive into these options and how they fit for St. Louis. 

Did Lance Lynn draw up a good offseason plan for the Cardinals bullpen?

Phillips, 32, has been in MLB since 2018. Most of his work comes in LA with the Dodgers. Spanning 278 innings, Phillips has a respectable 3.37 ERA and 47 saves. 

His best year came in 2022, when he had an astounding 1.14 ERA in 63 innings. That sparked the Dodgers to promote him to closer the following year, and he answered by locking down 24 saves with a 2.05 ERA. 

Phillips throws a four-seamer, cutter, sweeper, and sinker. In 2026, his fastball velocity ticked back up, which should promote optimism for his 2027 season. 

Alvarado, 31, is the former Philadelphia go-to lefty. 

The flamethrower began playing with the AL champion Rays in 2017 and joined forces with Philly in 2021. 

2023 was his best season in Philly, when he twirled a 1.74 ERA in 41.1 innings. Unfortunately, he’s now entered “prove-it” territory after a pitiful season. 

At his best, Alvarado has a devastating sinker/cutter combo and mixes in a curveball and four-seam. His velo is still great; he didn’t give up many hard-hit balls, and he’s got incredible extension. 

So what bit him? The Bank. 

Alvarado held a grueling 8.16 ERA at home. His egregiously low 36% groundball rate definitely had influence. In a hitter’s park like Philly, you can’t allow elevation. 

If the Cardinals bring in Alvarado, they’re finally doing what they should’ve been doing: weaponizing Busch Stadium. 

I’m with Lynn here: This is a great fit. 

Lastly, a Missouri native in Fairbanks who pitched at Mizzou before he was drafted. 

Similar to Alvarado, Fairbanks is a former top-shelf reliever who fell off entirely in 2026. His ERA finished at a miserable 6.31 last season. 

Velocity was still good, the Ks were still there, and so were the whiffs—Fairbanks just lost his control. 

He induced next to no ground balls, left the ball up in the zone, and walked far too many hitters. He’ll be a long shot to fix, but maybe some home cookin’ near his alma mater will suffice. 

If the right-hander can get back to commanding the strike zone, his stuff will play. It always has! Just ask his career 3.61 ERA and 109 saves. 

Lynn put together a fine list for the Cardinal bullpen unit. Now it’s a collective effort to email the X link to Chaim Bloom until he caves. 

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