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St. Louis Cardinals: Who should be the lefty out of the bullpen in 2023?
Which southpaws should be in the Cardinals' bullpen in 2023?
The left-handed options out of the bullpen is one of the biggest questions the St. Louis Cardinals are going to have to answer before the 2023 regular season begins. When the three-batter minimum rule started last season, it added to the importance of having a lefty on the mound late in games, because it was almost certain that they would have gotten at least one right-handed hitter out, the Randy Choates of the world are no more in this era of baseball. However going into the 2023 season, there's no guarantee on who will be that late-game lefty for the Cardinals, the options are currently minimal when it comes to experience and production, as the Cardinals did not go after any free-agent left-handed bullpen arms, but here are the current options for Oli Marmol to call on from the pen to open 2023.
1. Genesis Cabrera.
Cabby has the most experience pitching in late-game situations out of all the current options and has had success until he had a down year in 2022. Comparing his 2022 stats to 2021, not only did his era go up by almost an entire run but there were two specific stats that are concerning. His K/9 went from 9.9 in 2021 to 6.4 in 2022, also in 2021 he allowed 3 home runs in 70 innings, but in only 44 and 2 thirds innings last year, he gave up 8. He also had an unfortunate event in the summer of last season when he spiked the ball off the pitchers mound before Marmol took him out of the game, and cameras in the dugout saw Albert Pujols talking to him humbling him up. Then shortly after that missed some time with covid, which could be fair to blame for his numbers, but after the Cardinals failed to sign a left-handed reliever in the offseason, he'll have every opportunity in Spring to win the job.
2. Zack Thompson
Zack Thompson was one of several Cardinal rookies that contributed last season, and he was the Cardinals' most consistent left-handed reliever in the second half of last season. It was a small sample size though, an era of a touch over 2 in 34 and 2 thirds innings, but he made a good first impression. I would like to see him start the season with the Cardinals in the bullpen, but I don't think that's the long-term plan for the Cardinals. He did make one start last season and we might see him make more this year, however, with the current situation of not having a reliable lefty, we may just see him stay where he's shown success until further notice.
3. JoJo Romero.
Romero was acquired last year from the Phillies for Edmundo Sosa, and he was impressive in his first few appearances with the Cardinals. He struggled with walks but missed a lot of bats and at the end of the year had way better numbers than he did in Philly. His overall track record in the MLB isn't that good, despite this, it's possible he's found something with the Cardinals, and he could contribute in 2023.
4. Packy Naughton.
Over the past couple of seasons, the Cardinals' front office has been hesitant to get somebody that could fill a void immediately and contribute for years to come, they've instead tried to put a cheap flier on roster depth players that may or may not perform for the team, Packy Naughton was one of those guys. After putting up very bad numbers with the Angels in his first MLB season in 2021, the Cardinals picked him up off waivers, and by May he was with the big club in short spurts. He was up and down in 26 appearances last season, his most notable game was in St. Louis against the Dodgers when he inherited a bases-loaded, nobody-out situation and got out of it without giving up a run, one of the best highlights of last season. Overall his end-of-season stats we're about average, but he got a reputation as a strike thrower, which of course is always acceptable for a reliever, he could have an impact this season whether it's in middle relief or spot starting.
Other options
There are other long-shot options that could pitch for the Cardinals in 2023 at some point. One is Anthony Misiewicz who has a few years of major league experience with Seattle and Kansas City. He has middle-of-the-road numbers across the board but he could be a solid bullpen piece down the road. Another hail mary choice is Andrew Suarez, a non-roster invitee who has spent the last 2 seasons pitching in Korea and Japan. The Cardinals have had recent success with signing guys who are playing overseas, the most notable among them is Miles Mikolas, the St. Louis front office likes low-risk, high reward players who have resurrected their careers in another country, Suarez could become of those guys this year. He's pitched three seasons in the MLB with the Giants just before going to Korea in 2021, more power to him and to the Cardinals if he can produce with the big club this season.
Having a lefty to rely on late in games is crucial for any team to win, just looking back at the last two World Series-winning Cardinal teams, the Cardinals had shut down lefties Randy Flores and Tyler Johnson in the bullpen in 2006, then in 2011, they acquired Marc Rzepczynski and Arthur Rhodes at the trade deadline and they both got big outs in the World Series against the Rangers. All four of those lefties were big important factors to those world champion teams.
Next. Ranking the ceilings of Cardinals' infielders. dark