Cardinals' Bullpen Has Much-Needed Help Coming

It sure sounds like the St. Louis Cardinals are about to get a bullpen reinforcement back.

Feb 17, 2026; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Matt Pushard (67). Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images | Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals have a Matt Pushard decision to make and it sounds like it will be an easy one.

Pushard came over to St. Louis by way of the 2025 Rule 5 Draft and made one appearance with the club in the majors this season before landing on the Injured List with right knee patellar tendonitis. He began a minor league rehab assignment on April 15. Since then, he has made 11 appearances with Triple-A Memphis and has logged a 3.55 ERA. The clock is ticking and the 30-day minor league rehab clock will expire on Friday. The Cardinals have to make a decision about his fate with the club. If the Cardinals opted again to bring him back up to the big league club, barring an injury, the club would be at risk of losing him because of the Rule 5 Draft rules.

While this is the case, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the club is planning on keeping Pushard.

The Cardinals Have A Bullpen Decision To Make

Mar 29, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Matt Pushard (67) pitches in his major league debut in the eighth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

"The Cardinals intend to keep him, meaning he must soon be on the active roster," Goold wrote. "The Cardinals wanted to use the rehab assignment to see Pushard in a variety of assignments. He pitched more than an inning three times, and this past week he appeared in back-to-back games to test his recovery and effectiveness. He did well with both tasks and had some his best velocity and stuff in his outing Wednesday. Pushard struck out eight in his recent six innings on the rehab assignment."

If the Cardinals plan on keeping him, that would mean activating him before the rehab clock hits zero. The Cardinals' bullpen could use a boost in general. Maybe Pushard is the answer. While it has been a very fun season overall for the Cardinals, the bullpen has been a weakness. St. Louis is 26th in the league with a 4.70 ERA. At the very least, bringing Pushard back to the major league roster would be a change of pace from what the club has had.

It will be interesting to see how the Cardinals handle bringing Pushard back up. Matt Svanson has an 8.72 ERA on the season in 20 appearances, but has looked better of late, including back-to-back scoreless outings. Justin Bruihl has a 5.40 ERA in 20 outings so far this season. Jared Shuster has a 2.35 ERA in four outings, but has already bounced between the majors and minors.

Regardless of the corresponding move, it does sound like Pushard will be up in the very near future, at least.