The Cardinals have gotten off to their worst in 50 years. Changes must be made to right the course, but who will the team move?
The Cardinals broke a frustrating eight-game losing streak Sunday that has fallen within the worst start the storied organization has had.
With so much drama involving the pitching staff struggling to execute pitches combined with the new pitching clock and a new catcher filling in for an organizational legend, a lot is going on, and a lot needs to be done to simmer the drama within the organization. Sunday's 12-6 win over the Tigers, plus honesty from John Mozeliak, team president of baseball operations, regarding what's going on with the pitching staff and Willson Contreras' status with the team, did help some.
Mozeliak informed Katie J. Woo of The Athletic (subscription only) that Contreras wasn't losing his catching job after signing a five-year deal worth $87.5 million. Instead, he would become the team designated hitter while learning the aspects of "The Cardinal Way" of handling catching duties. While it seems like a head-scratcher to put this on a player who has been an All-Star catcher, it's what the organization wants to do to help bring some stability while the pitchers get used to the pitching clock, a new pitching coach and better executing their pitches.
Unfortunately, it was presented initially by manager Oli Marmol in a manner that created more of an issue than necessary.
While the starting rotation tries to get on track after struggling to execute pitches, some deals may have to be completed to help a taxed rotation and bullpen. Let's look at some players the team may have to move and may be gone from the roster by June 1.
Jojo Romero may be off the Cardinals roster by June 1
Romero had a bad day Sunday, pitching one-third of an inning. He gave up a walk and one hit. That hit was a grand slam home run to Jake Rogers, which created a blown save for Romero. The game was 6-3 after the home run.
In previous games this season, that home run would have resulted in the Cardinals giving up and losing in another horrible way. Instead, the Cards were able to battle back and win the game, but outings like Romero had can not become a regular occurrence.
Romero has an ERA of 3.52 over six games. In 7.2 innings, he's given up five walks, four hits, three earned runs, and Sunday's grand slam home run.
The Cards need a solid arm to throw strikes and get outs, not create unnecessary excitement with their outing.
The team will likely be forced to option Romero to create an opportunity to bring in a more stable relief arm.
James Naile may be off the Cardinals roster by June 1
Speaking of more stable relief arms, Naile has struggled to be that for the Cardinals since being called up.
On Sunday, he pitched a third of an inning, giving up two hits and three runs. This was his first appearance with St. Louis in 2023. Not a promising debut at all. Given his struggles, it will be interesting to see how long the Cardinals keep him up with the team and on the roster.
It's easy to see the Cards will likely move him from his roster spot before the end of the month to make way for a steady rotation arm. The organization has many arms being developed that could debut this season in his place.
Tres Barrera may be off the Cardinals roster by June 1
Barrera was promoted from Memphis to help with pitching duties as Andrew Knizner took over full-time catching responsibilities. Willson Contreras will take on the role of the team's designated hitter while he works on things to acclimate himself to the Cardinals' way of preparation with the catching duties.
Taylor Motter was designated for assignment to make room for the promotion of Barrera to join the team in a backup catching role. Barrera has not debuted with the Cardinals, but it will be interesting. While in Memphis, Barrera was slashing .255/.314/.532 with an OPS of .846. He had a double, four home runs and 15 RBI. That's pretty impressive, and it will be interesting to see how he performs. It will also be good to give Knizner a break during this time.
But Contrereas is a professional. Contreras is a former All-Star. It seems inevitable that this will not be the drawn-out issue purported through Marmol's explanation of the problem. Instead, he should earn the team's trust to retake the reins of the catching duties. There could be an issue if Barrera outperforms Knizner. But Barrera will likely be designated for assignment back to Memphis before June 1.
Jordan Hicks may be off the Cardinals roster by June 1
Marmol has said he would only use Hicks in low-leverage situations as he works out to become a more effective and efficient pitcher for the Cardinals. It goes against everything, though, when the low-leverage settings he's placed in become high-leverage based on his pitching.
On Friday, Hicks earned his third season loss when he pitched two-thirds of an inning. While walking two and giving up one hit, he gave up three earned runs. In 14 games this season, he has a 7.62 ERA over 13 innings of work. He has struck out 22, but he's still terribly ineffective while throwing over 100 mph; hoping for the best.
Hicks has five years of service in the Major Leagues and can decline a demotion to the minor leagues, as it would affect his service time. Hicks declined to be sent to the minor leagues, and the team opted to put him in low-leverage situations to allow pitching coach Dusty Blake to help him become more effective with his pitches.
Unfortunately, the situations Marmol is putting him in start are low-leverage but quickly become higher leverage as he loses some control over his pitches. Considering some of the bad luck situations the Cards have found themselves in, leading to some gut-punching losses, the team could be forced into a situation where they have to designate Hicks to assignment to get better solutions pitching.
Hicks's performances have been very frustrating this season. He has struggled to consistently and effectively throw his pitches that can top out at 103 mph. When throwing at that speed, it's crucial to be effective. Hicks still needs to work on this, and while the organization desperately need him to be effective — it's taking a long time to get there, and the Cards may be forced to remove him from the roster before June 1.
