The Cardinals lost the most reliable arm in their bullpen on Friday. St. Louis placed left-hander JoJo Romero on the 15-day injured list retroactive to July 14, selected the contract of right-hander Scott Blewett from Triple-A Memphis, and designated catcher Yohel Pozo for assignment to open the roster spot. The club did not specify an injury in the transaction.
Romero has been the bridge. He leads the Cardinals with 20 holds and has thrown 43 innings across 44 appearances with a 3.35 ERA, 43 strikeouts and 16 walks. Those are the innings that come with the game hanging — the seventh and eighth, usually against the other team’s best left-handed hitter — and they now get redistributed to Ryne Stanek (15 holds, 4.66 ERA) and George Soriano (14 holds, 3.27 ERA), with Riley O’Brien and his 25 saves still closing.
Blewett arrives having forced the decision himself. As reported Thursday, he triggered the opt-out in his minor league deal, leaving St. Louis to add him or lose him. His Memphis line argues both sides of the case: 63 strikeouts in 48 2/3 innings across 37 games is a legitimate swing-and-miss rate, but a 5.18 ERA and 19 walks say the strike-throwing has not been consistent enough to trust in a tie game yet. He is a middle-innings addition, not a Romero replacement.
The timing is the uncomfortable part. St. Louis is 51-45 after Friday’s 5-4 win in Phoenix, 8 1/2 games behind Milwaukee in the division and playing for a wild card with a pitching staff carrying a 4.11 ERA and 16 blown saves. A bullpen already converting saves at a mediocre rate now has to cover the same high-leverage innings with less. Nothing about the roster math fixes that; the outs have to be earned by the arms that remain.
For fantasy purposes, Romero’s absence is worth acting on in holds leagues, where he had been a set-and-forget source. Stanek is the most likely direct beneficiary and is the better speculative add of the two, though Soriano’s ERA suggests he may inherit the tougher spots. O’Brien’s save role is unaffected. Blewett is a deep-league watch only until he shows the walks are under control.
