Lone bright spot in Cardinals bullpen is still being overlooked

The St. Louis Cardinals are doing their best to stay in postseason contention, but the season-long struggles in the bullpen are making that difficult. Despite the team sitting around .500 and still being in the Wild Card race, the vibe among fans has been shifted towards the future. The bullpen collapses have been happening far too often, but the Cardinals' lowest-cost move of the offseason is paying off in a big way.

The Cardinals acquired left-hander Justin Bruihl from the Cleveland Guardians at the beginning of January in a move that did not hit many people's radars. The reliever was grabbed from Cleveland for cash considerations shortly after he was DFA'd and immediately became a legitimate bullpen option for Chaim Bloom's ignored relief corps. Now five months into the 2026 season, he has been one of the most consistent arms for manager Oli Marmol, even if he does not provide the firepower of other top relievers.

Justin Bruihl has been one of the best acquisitions for the Cardinals' big league roster this year

After pitching to a 5.63 ERA in his first 17 games with the Cardinals, it looked like Bruihl was going to be another low-risk acquisition for a bullpen that was not prioritized in a rebuild season. Besides the ERA, Bruihl allowed 11 walks against just seven strikeouts in 16 innings through April, and if the Cardinals had other lefty options ready and waiting, his time with the organization may have been finished then. Luckily for him and the Cardinals, nobody forced him out of a role and Marmol kept throwing him out there until he figured it out. And figure it out he has.

In his 35 appearances since the season's first full month, Bruihl has covered 41.1 innings, oftentimes as the only healthy lefty in the pen. He has done far more than just get through games, despite being a sacrificial arm in multiple instances. Since April, Bruihl has given up just 12 earned runs for a phenomenal 2.61 ERA, as he did his best to right the ship in an otherwise miserable bullpen. Armed with a fastball that averages just 90.4mph, the lefty has done his best work by trusting his stuff and letting his pitches do their thing.

Bruihl's command has been stellar since his first-month blip, walking just 10 hitters and striking out 33 over those 35 outings. When JoJo Romero hit the injured list, Bruihl was the literal only left-handed option for Marmol, who then had to go to Luis Gastelum and George Soriano more often to offset opposing lefty hitters. That strategy has not been as successful as it would have been with multiple southpaws in the pen, but Bruihl has made the middle innings much more palatable for fans as the season winds down.

The 29-year-old Bruihl has been a revelation in an otherwise painful bullpen and is under team control for another two seasons after this year. With his solid season, he may see a solid increase in salary that will eventually make him too expensive for the rebuilding Cardinals, but he has to be seen as a shoo-in for a 2027 bullpen spot at this point. Whether he can retain his effectiveness with below-average strikeout stuff remains to be seen, but for the time being, Justin Bruihl has been one of the Cardinals' best pitchers this season.

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