What Should The Cardinals Do With Riley O'Brien?

"It's been a weird year for closers. , , Ryan Helsley, Emilio Pagán, Carlos Estévez and others are on the injured list. Jeff Hoffman lost his job with the Blue Jays. Pete Fairbanks, just reinstated from the IL, has an earned run average of 10.00. Devin Williams and Andrés Muñoz have ERAs over 5.00. Bryan Abreu, filling in for Hader, has an ERA over 8.00."

"St. Louis acquired Riley O'Brien in a very small trade in November of 2023. At the time, O'Brien didn't even have a 40-man roster spot with the Mariners. All 29 other clubs had passed on claiming him when Seattle placed him on outright waivers in the summer of 2022. He was about to become a minor league free agent, but the Cards saw enough in O'Brien to send cash to Seattle to acquire him and place him on their 40-man roster so he couldn't hit the open market."

"The track record at that time wasn't much to go on. An eighth-round pick of the Rays in 2017, O'Brien began his career as a starting pitcher. He was flipped to the Reds in August of 2020 for left-hander . Cincinnati added O'Brien to the 40-man roster that November to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. Things didn't work out with the Reds. O'Brien made a brief major league debut in 2021 but posted a 4.55 ERA in Triple-A. He was designated for assignment early in 2022 and shipped to the Mariners for cash or a player to be named later."

"O'Brien was moved to a relief role in 2022, a switch that didn't immediately bear fruit. He finished the year with a 7.03 ERA in 39 2/3 Triple-A innings. He seemed to turn a corner in 2023 when he threw 55 Triple-A innings with a 2.29 ERA in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. O'Brien struck out 37.7% of batters faced and induced grounders on 57.1% of balls in play. His 13.6% walk rate showed that he was still working on his control, but the Cards were intrigued enough to make tha"

Several high-profile closers and late-inning relievers are unavailable due to injuries or have struggled with high ERAs. St. Louis has received strong bullpen results from Riley O'Brien, a reliever who had limited major league experience before turning 30. The Cardinals acquired O'Brien in a small November 2023 trade with Seattle, adding him to the 40-man roster to prevent him from reaching minor league free agency. O'Brien’s early career included multiple organizations and a role change from starter to reliever. After a difficult 2022 in Triple-A, he improved in 2023 with a low ERA, strong strikeout and ground-ball rates, and a still-developing walk rate.

Read at MLB Trade Rumors