JoJo

Romero

Soriano received his opportunity with both Riley O’Brien, JoJo Romero and Ryne Stanek presumably unavailable for workload reasons after each of them threw over 30 pitches during a two-game span over the weekend. The 27-year-old righty was charged with preserving a two-run lead and managed to work around a two-out single by Nick Gonzales to slam the door.

The Cardinals indicated that part of the reason O’Brien opened up in a setup role was that he was behind after his calf injury this spring. The results didn’t really agree with that assessment, but all seems right now anyway. The Cardinals used Ryne Stanek in the seventh and Jojo Romero in the eighth tonight, so they were clearly intending for O’Brien to close. He’s probably not a lock to record all of the team’s save chances, but he is the best bet in their pen and should be picked up wherever he’s available.

After Riley O’Brien and Jojo Romero worked scoreless seventh and eighth innings, respectively, Stanek was expected to get the ninth. However, the Cardinals expanded their lead from two runs to four in the bottom of the eighth, causing the team to sit him down and get up Svanson. Svanson went on to allow a single, a walk and another single while getting two outs. Stanek took over then and gave up hits to Carson Williams and Nick Fortes to tie the game before retiring Ben Williamson to finish the inning. For the optimist, it’s good that Stanek was the Cardinals’ preferred closer for the second straight game, and the blown save was more about Svanson’s performance than Stanek’s. Still, Stanek is probably the Cardinals’ third-best reliever at best — he posted a 5.09 ERA the last two years — and it’s not like he has a history of closing that somehow should provide him with an edge here. Probably half the reason he was the first choice in the ninth is because the Cardinals hope it will get them a better prospect in return when they try to move him in July.

Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom told reporters the deal is now official. The hard-throwing 34-year-old middle reliever fortifies St. Louis’ bullpen after recording an underwhelming 5.30 ERA — 4.40 FIP — 1.57 WHIP and 58/32 K/BB ratio across 56 innings for the Mets last year. He’s been a durable innings-eater, making 55 appearances or more in each of the past five seasons, and has some experience in high-leverage spots. He isn’t a threat to close with the Cardinals but it wouldn’t be shocking if he wound up vulturing the occasional save from Riley O’Brien or JoJo Romero.

Romero gets a $1.9 million raise while coming off his best season; he had a 2.07 ERA in a career-high 61 innings for the Cardinals. This is his final year before free agency, so he’s a trade candidate on a rebuilding club.

The 29-year-old left-hander is set to hit free agency following the 2026 season and it seems like a question of when, rather than if, he’ll be traded. The Yankees and Mariners have also expressed interest in his services this offseason. While Romero functioned as the Cardinals’ closer down the stretch in 2025, it’s more likely that he’ll wind up working in a setup role wherever he winds up for the 2026 season.

With the Cardinals in a full rebuild, moving Romero for anything they can get before he enters his final arbitration season makes plenty of sense. The Mariners have also checked in on Romero at some point this offseason. The 29-year-old southpaw posted a 2.07 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and a 55/29 K/BB ratio over 61 innings while notching eight saves for the Cardinals in 2025.

It’s the eighth save of the season for Romero, but the first one he’s claimed since September 2. The left-hander threw 13-of-19 pitches for strikes while lowering his ERA to a healthy 2.09 in 2025.

After JoJo Romero shut the Reds down in the eighth, O’Brien was called on to close things out in the ninth with a three-run lead. He tossed a clean frame, striking out one batter for his fifth save of the season. Expect O’Brien and Romero to operate in a matchup-based committee for save chances.

Although he was dealing with shoulder tightness earlier this week, O’Brien has been allowed to pitch on back-to-back days. He got the ninth today after JoJo Romero was brought in to face Rafael Devers and the middle of the order in the eighth. Both relievers did their jobs well, as they generally have since Ryan Helsley got traded. Romero would still seem to be the favorite for saves in St. Louis.