The St. Louis Cardinals are hoping to maintain their momentum against the lowly Colorado Rockies after winning two fantastic series against postseason contenders. The Cardinals might play their way back into the postseason picture after defeating the Dodgers and Cubs four games to one.
St. Louis seemed to punt on the season at the trade deadline when they sold three expiring relief contracts for young minor league components. A poor July made this the logical pick, but the Cardinals have come around in August and head into play against the Rockies only 3.5 games back of the last Wild Card place. The Cardinals have recruited players from Memphis despite the new bullpen openings, and one player in particular has performed well in his new position. Riley O’Brien has remained healthy and at last displayed the skill set that earned him an eighth-round choice in the 2017 draft. He was acquired by the Cardinals in an offseason deal with the Seattle Mariners in 2023.
Cardinals reliever Riley O’Brien has become one of the team’s trusted late-game arms out the bullpen.
Who would fill in for those bullpen innings and if they would be as good as the previous pitchers were the Cardinals’ main concerns following the trades of Ryan Helsley, Phil Maton, and Steven Matz. O’Brien was one of these choices; I’ve been adamant about his having a shot ever since the Cardinals acquired him from Seattle, but his major league innings have been restricted by injuries and command problems. O’Brien had played in 10 major league games since 2021 going into this season, and in addition to his impressive strikeout performance, he averaged more than a walk per inning.
Despite a difficult start to the season, the reliever’s 2025 campaign has been different. O’Brien has been with the team since June 9 and has taken time off since being covered by teammate J.T. Buchheit, despite having been optioned three times this year. O’Brien has made 22 appearances since being recalled, pitching 26.2 innings. Two days prior, he had already recorded his first career save in a victory over the Dodgers. The reliever has a 1.01 ERA and 27 strikeouts against 13 walks across those games.
Opposing batters are hitting merely because O’Brien, like other relievers, is mostly using a two-pitch mix: a 90 mph slider and a 98.3 mph sinker, which he throws 80% of the time, along with a curveball that he has begun to include more regularly with excellent results.193 against O’Brien, and he has only allowed two homers all season and zero since his first game following his return. Also encouraging is the fact that he has done his best late in the game. He has pitched 13.2 innings with 10 strikeouts and only two runs allowed in the eighth inning or later. Although he still struggles with command at times, he has improved recently, walking only three hitters in his previous 6.2 innings across seven outings.
Riley O’Brien must be at the top of the list of players who can fill that position, even though manager Oliver Marmol hasn’t committed to one closer for the last stretch of the season. Since he is the only lefty in the bullpen, JoJo Romero is still utilized in high-leverage matchup situations even though it appeared like he might receive some opportunities. There’s no reason to think O’Brien won’t establish himself as a favorite for the closer position in September and beyond if he can maintain his pace through August.
