Trevor Rosenthal's season — and the majority of 2018 as well — may be over, but the St. Louis Cardinals will take the field tonight against the San Diego Padres. A season-ending injury is always devastating, but the Cardinals have been here before with their closers hitting the bricks early.
Jason Isringhausen's hip deteriorated in the latter part of the 2006 season and Adam Wainwright took over, throwing the last pitch of the World Series. Fernando Salas took over for a struggling Ryan Franklin before Motte eventually grabbed the reins for the 2011 World Series run. Motte went down in 2013 with Tommy John, and that is when the Cardinals turned to a guy named Rosenthal.
Closers go down all the time and their timing is never ideal, but that's baseball. There is no clock nor is there crying allowed in the game. Rosenthal left the game against Boston last week with decreased velocity and was diagnosed with a right elbow posterior injury that signaled a red flag. What the Cardinals cannot do — and I referenced this in Monday's recipe for improvement — is attempt a closer by committee.
Does the name Pedro Borbon ring a bell? If not, feel good about your intact memory. Borbon was a part of a 2003 committee that blew more saves than a whiffle-ball-slinging aged Jeff Brantley. The Cardinals had no clue who to turn to when Isringhausen went down during the season, but the result was ugly. Let's not do that again.
Manager Mike Matheny needs to pick one guy and let it ride, at least for a few opportunities. Relievers in baseball thrive on knowing their role and when they need to be ready to go. A shuffle board sequence won't help a streaky team that somehow still grasps the opportunity for a playoff run.
Who replaces Rosenthal? The truth is nobody due to how peak Rosenthal is, but they can look at a few good men to pick up the slack and not blow up the ninth inning.
Option 1: Seung Hwan Oh
The Stone Buddha has converted 19 saves on the season, but he hasn't been the same pitcher he was last season. Gone are the 2.13 fielding independent pitching mark and the 0.9 WHIP and in their places are a much worse 4.03 FIP and 1.3 WHIP. Oh's pitches don't have the crispness that fooled hitters a year ago. The opposition adjusted and if Oh goes back into the ninth, there could be some stressful last frames. I'd keep him as a setup type.
Option 2: Sam Tuivailala
The converted shortstop can touch triple digits and is working on a couple secondary pitches, but he is still raw when it comes to being reliable over the course of consecutive appearances. The good news is he has appeared in 24 games, which is a lot for a guy constantly moving between Memphis and St. Louis. The bad news is Tuivailala is still walking too many guys. Eleven free passes in only 29.1 innings isn't terrible, but it's too much for a guy looking to pierce the late innings. Tui needs work in the sixth, seventh and, possibly, eighth inning before he steps into the ninth. The control still needs fine tuning.
Option #3: Tyler Lyons
I am split on this idea. Lyons has vastly improved his long ball weakness, with only two homers allowed this year in 39.1 innings. Lyons has been a jack of all trades for the Cardinals this year, helping out in many different situations. He has the stuff and ability to work the ninth, but I think the Cards would be losing one of their trusted long guys if he was moved to the ninth. Lyons can strike guys out, but he can pitch 1-3 innings per appearance. Like Matt Bowman, Lyons is a versatile pitcher who can serve a number of areas, so why pigeonhole him?
Option #4: John Brebbia
Here is my pick and for one reason: Brebbia doesn't put a lot of guys on base. The 0.7 WHIP is absolute ignorance and the five walks in 35.1 innings is very good as well. Brebbia can strike hitters out and doesn't give the hitters an extra inch at the plate or on the bases. He doesn't put hitters on base and he doesn't allow the long ball that often. The two things you don't want in the ninth are walks and home runs. Brebbia isn't perfect, but he is a move that the Cardinals could make without rupturing other parts of the bullpen. Oh could continue to setup, Tui could develop into a seventh inning guy, and the others could filter in. Brebbia deserved a better fate last week in Boston when he took over for Rosenthal, so unleashing him in the ninth for a week or two is worth the gamble.
Forget the committee and go with the Game of Thrones extra, because it may just help reestablish a sense of identity for the Cards. John Fulboam Brebbia was drafted in the 30th round by the New York Yankees; a late bloomer who found his first MLB appearance with the Cards this summer. It wouldn't hurt to see if his stuff can translate in the ninth.
Rosenthal is down for at least a year, but the Cardinals need to lean on one guy right now to try and salvage a 2017 season that just won't count them out. These next few games could make or break the season, because a 4.5 game deficit can turn into a 7.5 game hold real quick. Don't waste any time. Pick a new closer. Go with FULBOAM!