Don’t panic just yet after that loss to the Giants. The Cardinals blew a big lead yesterday but the bullpen isn’t a broken mess for the long haul. It’s a specific 2026 problem that needs a quick fix, not a total rebuild. Yahoo Sports points out that the relief corps works differently than your starting lineup or everyday bats. Third base and center field are real issues that need years to solve. The bullpen changes every year, even when it is good. That is just how baseball works.
Hidden Gems Are Already Pitching
You are missing the real story if you only look at the box score. There are hidden gems in the pen who are ready to be weapons. Gordon Graceffo is a different pitcher in the second half than he was in the first. By season’s end, he aims to achieve a reasonable strikeout rate through a speed run. He strikes out every other hitter whenever he can. If that second-half version lasts through 2027, he becomes a true weapon for the team. Luis Gastelum also has a slow start, but he strikes out over 30% of hitters. He has a reasonable walk rate and a 3.03 xFIP. If he pitches close to that number next season, he is another weapon. Cade Winquest did not pitch well today, but it was only his sixth career game. In the minors, he recorded a 34.8% strikeout rate against hitters while maintaining an average walk rate.
Stop blaming George Soriano. There is a narrative that George Soriano is struggling because he has reached a career high in games pitched. He has not had a very good second half, and he helped blow that six-run lead. Fans want to believe he is worn out because they think he is better than he really is. I do not buy it at all. It is too easy to say an arm is stressed just because he has pitched a lot. During the middle of the 2022 season, Soriano transitioned to a relief role. He threw 29 innings in the minors and 47 in AAA. He threw 76 innings in 40 games in 2023. The next season, he became a full-time reliever. The innings are not the problem. The stuff is the problem, and the stuff can get better. Bullpens are random. A move or two makes this a good group next year. I am not taking crazy pills because that is just how baseball works.
The Cardinals have starting pitchers like Matthew Liberatore and Cooper Hjerpe who could move to the bullpen. Their stuff will play up in relief next season and beyond. The team needs two of those things to translate for Cade Winquest: the strikeouts, the walks, or the groundballs. He had an over 50% ground ball rate in the minors. That is a good reliever right there. The starting pitchers might be Ixan Henderson or Tekoah Roby.
