The Cardinals have activated right-handed pitcher Riley O’Brien from the 60-day injured list, the team announced. He has been optioned to Triple-A Memphis. In a corresponding transaction, fellow right-hander Nick Robertson has been designated for assignment.
O’Brien, 29, has been on the injured list almost all season with a right forearm flexor strain. The Cardinals clearly like what he has to offer – he made the Opening Day roster out of camp – but they ultimately decided he is too much of an unknown quantity for a spot in the bullpen right now (per Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat). Jones notes that the decision for the final spot in the bullpen came down to O’Brien and Kyle Leahy, and the Cardinals were more confident in what Leahy brings to the table. Leahy, 27, has a 3.86 ERA and 4.46 SIERA in 37 1/3 innings this season. O’Brien, on the other hand, has only pitched 3 1/3 innings in his MLB career. His Triple-A numbers were promising last season (2.29 ERA, 3.77 FIP in 55 IP), but it’s understandable why the Cardinals would want to see more from him before throwing him back into their bullpen amid a close postseason race.
Robertson, 26, came over to the Cardinals this offseason as part of the trade return for outfielder Tyler O’Neill. He made eight appearances for St. Louis, pitching to a 4.38 ERA and 2.97 SIERA in 12 1/3 innings. However, he has a far less appealing 7.48 ERA in 21 2/3 innings at Triple-A. If he passes through waivers unclaimed, the Cardinals can choose to send him outright to Triple-A (where he is already pitching) as additional minor league pitching depth.
Tyler ONeill, the guy traded away for Robertson, has more home runs than Nootbaar, Donovan, Siani, Carlson, Scott and Walker combined.
The return for O’Neill reflected what the league thought of O’Neill.
And who was right and who was wrong?
Walker was the number 1 prospect in all of baseball at one point.
Sometimes people are wrong.
Why can’t I reply to this posers comments?
I named 6 freaking outfielders dude. 6 of them and all of the COMBINED have less homer runs. Yeah Burleson has been good. But Walker is the guy that was supposed to replace ONeill and that decision looks stupid as can be.
O’Neill and Carlson both ran their course in St. Louis. I refuse to waste energy being mad about it. They got what they could in return. There’s no guarantee O’Neill would have done as well in St. Louis given the bad blood. Do I wish Marmol would have gone instead? Yes. I’m still not going to be upset about it.
Poser? Bahahaha You can’t even figure out how to comment on here.
Why not go ahead and mention the rest of the outfielders in Memphis while you’re at it? Maybe even a few of the guys in Springfield?
Boo hoo!!
Who said I am upset? I stated a fact that’s all I did. Then others got defensive.
I put Lame Staley on mute.
Crawl back under your bridge, little troll.
And he’s been hurt 3 or 4 times. I’m glad to be rid of him.
Yeah he’s been hurt and he STILL has more homers than the 6 guys I named combined. That’s how much better he is than all those players.
In fairness, Walker is still just 22 years old. I believe he will be back and eventually make at least a couple all star teams. Last year he showed promise at the MLB level
If they let him play. The way they’re handling him since they recalled him is terrible.
You’re comparing O’Neill to three guys that have spent a huge chunk of the season in Memphis, one guy that has been injured a bit this season and a utility player? Convenient choices. I noticed you left Burleson out of your equation. I’m sure that was accidental.
It’s strange that you left Alec Burleson off that list. He’s only a few HRs short of O’Neill and has actually been healthy all season.
What’s strange is you don’t seem to understand we could have had both ONeill and Burleson on the same team in 2024. It’s not like we had to choose one.
ONeill is a 2 time gold glove winner BTW. Burleson……isnt………
Your complaint had nothing to do with the possibility of having both players. You just cherry-picked a comparison while purposely leaving out the best counterexample.that showed than O’Neill isn’t as great as you make him out to be.
Anyway, yes, the Cardinals could’ve kept O’Neill, and he would’ve made the team better this year, but the Cardinals were sick of dealing with his unfulfilled potential, which he still hasn’t fulfilled after yet another injury this year. With the emergence of Burleson (whose defense they can hide at DH sometimes), they don’t miss O’Neill that badly.
ONeill is outplaying Burleson too. I named 6 freaking outfielders I didn’t cherry pick anything. 6 outfielders and ONeill has more homers than all of them COMBINED.
ONeill while still not fulfilling his potential would still be the best outfielders on the 2024 Cardinals. That’s a fact. ONeills defense is great Burlesons is bad. And like I said it’s not an either or. We had both guys and chose to trade ONeill for some bum that just got DFAd.
You’re splurging right now. Sometimes I have to remind my nephew when he gets fixated on things too.
TON would have been hurt all year if he was still here so its a pointless comparison.
You cherry-picked by specifically leaving out the one guy who best disproved your point. Your argument that O’Neill is better than the other OFers combined is meaningless if you don’t actually include all of them in your comparison. Who cares that O’Neill has outhomered 6 of the Cardinals’ OFers when he has not come even close to outhomering all 7, not that homers alone indicate a player’s value, anyway?
O’Neill may technically be outplaying Burleson this year, but it’s not by much considering the time O’Neill lost to injury and that Burleson’s defense doesn’t actually hurt the Cardinals when he plays DH.
As I said, keeping O’Neill certainly would’ve made the team better, but the Cardinals don’t miss him that much due to Burleson mostly replacing his value. Trading O”Neill is regretful but only a minor regret.
My point was that ONeill hit more home runs than those 6 outfielders I kentioned combined. And like I said he’s better than Burleson because he’s a good base runner and a gold glove defender.
ONeill is outplaying Burleson by a lot chief it’s not a technicality.
As I said we could have had both. Walker replaced ONeill not Burleson. And Walker has been in AAA most of the year.
Not on point but I’m thinking the Sox will sign Hill given their current pitching situation.
Speaking of Walker. It’s time for him to come back up. Just hit another HR today in Memphis. Cards need another RH bat . Not sure who you send out but time for him to be back on team
It’s not time for him to come back up. He needs to EARN the promotion this time.
I’d take Walker if it meant Crawford finally gets DFAed. I have no idea why Crawford is still on the team.
However, it’s more important that Walker continue to get regular playing time right now. He’s not playing over Burleson, Donovan, Nootbaar, or Pham right now. That would leave him fighting for PAs with Gorman, Scott (or Siani instead once he returns), and the times Contreras plays DH so Pages can catch.
Crawford is the backup shortstop. If Edman was still around he could have replaced Crawford but he’s not. I agree Walker has no place to play at the moment.
You got your wish. Walker is in right field tonight
Walker been red hot down at Memphis . He’s earned a chance. Cards should think about sending Gorman down to see if he can figure it out. Put Donny at 2B and put Walker in RF for awhile. Burly DH. Contreras C most of time. Mix and match rest of outfield per matchup.Sure not gonna hurt anything
What’s Gormans career OPS at AAA?
What’s Walker’s?
Look it up.
Walker needs to EARN his job not be handed one like he was last time.
The Cardinals would still have a full OF of Nootbaar, Scott, and Pham. Walker isn’t playing over Nootbaar or Pham, and the Cardinals insist that Nootbaar is not a full-time defensive CFer, so Scott will still get decent playing time at worst.
They also need the DH spot to sometimes rest Contreras and other guys, so Burleson is also going to need some OF time. Overall, Walker would only get part-time work at best, which is probably not the best choice for him right now.
None of it matters. The Cardinals are barely treading water, and the upcoming schedule is brutal. They’ll be below .500 and out of contention by September 1st.
The silver lining is ownership seems to already be putting out the word that they did their part. I assume that means they intend to make someone else the fall guy. Marmol is as good as gone. Mo will probably be asked to share his throne with Chaim Bloom beginning this offseason. It should have never got to this point, but at least there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Even if they do fall apart that quickly, Mozeliak and Girsch still did an excellent job reviving the team to this point in just one year after last year’s disaster.
While I don’t share your enthusiasm, I will admit that Mo did what he said he would do as far as improving the pitching. That’s going to be enough for him to dodge the axe and lay the blame on Marmol.
But having said that, this is Mo’s team. His fingerprints are all over every aspect. If they finish below .500 again, he has to own his share of the blame. That’s why I think he’s going to be forced to share the crown after the season.
I am willing to give credit where credit is due. Mo’s moves in the offseason and at the deadline were solid enough in a vacuum. That’s the most you’re going to get from me.
I agree with Lanidrac that just getting back to 500 is an accomplishment in itself at this point. But that’s also an indication of how bad things have gotten lately. My guess is Marmol lasts until July or so of 2025.
We’re over .500 today. That’s not going to last. That’s my ultimate point. Consecutive finishes under .500 results in a failing grade for everyone involved.
I agree for the most part. But this is an improvement over last year or at least it probably will be. I saw the schedule it is ugly.
If they had DFAed Armstrong, they would’ve been able to guarantee that they keep Robertson and have room on the active roster for O”Brien.
Seriously, they would’ve been better off just dumping Carlson on outright waivers (and then releasing him if there were no takers) than pick up that bum now wasting a spot in their Major League bullpen.
Armstrong was an odd pickup, considering that the Cardinals have a lot of relievers who are not great but better than Armstrong at this point..
When I mentioned bringing up Walker I wasn’t talking about part time or platoon. Put him in RF where he was and let him play. He’s part of their future. Even if they somehow make playoffs they won’t advance past first round most likely. Let the kid play