Unplayable Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez mercifully optioned for bounce-back arm

How the St. Louis Cardinals allowed Ryan Fernandez to spiral as much as he has is beyond me, but thankfully, they finally put a pause on his presence with the club this afternoon.

I am intentionally calling this a "pause" as I really do believe in the talent Fernandez possesses, and he very well could be back in St. Louis in the near future and providing them a lot of value again. But things were just untenable for Fernandez at the Major League level at this point, and it was clearly time for him to go work on things in Memphis.

And the Cardinals have finally granted him that opportunity.

The Cardinals are recalling Riley O'Brien and optioning Ryan Fernandez to Memphis

The Cardinals officially announced today that they are optioning Fernandez down to Memphis while recalling right-handed reliever Riley O'Brien to join the bullpen in St. Louis.

O'Brien was acquired by the Cardinals going into the 2024 season, but only saw eight appearances out of their bullpen due to a mixture of poor performances and a significant injury he suffered at the beginning of the year. While O'Brien did not make the Opening Day roster this year, he's been dynamic for Memphis thus far, posting a 3.86 ERA while striking out 14 batters in just seven innings of work.

O'Brien arguably has some of the best stuff of any potential reliever in the Cardinals' system, but a combination of control issues and health has prevented him from maximizing that outlook at the Major League level. He's done well in Memphis so far this year, and now he'll get the chance to help out a Cardinals bullpen in desperate need of assistance.

The Cardinals' bullpen has been a mess all season long, as outside of Ryan Helsley, Phil Maton, and Kyle Leahy, the club basically cannot trust anyone. Steven Matz has been awesome so far, but he is in a unique role shifting back and forth between the rotation and bullpen.

If the Cardinals want to get back to winning games this year, they need an arm or two to step up and support those three at the back of their bullpen. O'Brien may be able to be that guy.

Fernandez was excellent in the first half of 2024 for the Cardinals but really struggled down the stretch. He was unable to be optioned to Memphis in 2025 due to being a Rule 5 selection, but the Cardinals have that built-in flexibility this year. Fernandez's slider was a great pitch for him last year, but he seems to have lost all feel and command for it this season, and he has to find that in Memphis if he is going to bounce back.