Cardinals’ Matt Svanson Problem Is Getting Harder to Ignore

The St. Louis Cardinals should close the door on any options at this point.

May 6, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Matt Svanson (49) reacts as he walks off the field after the ninth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals have been red-hot recently, but even they can't win every game.

There are going to be plenty of losses throughout the season. That's just the nature of Major League Baseball. On Wednesday, the Cardinals had one of those games where things simply didn't go in their favor. The Cardinals faced off against the Pittsburgh Pirates with Michael McGreevy taking the mound to face off against Carmen Mlodzinski. McGreevy allowed three earned runs, but was able to navigate around a lot of traffic on the base paths. He allowed 10 base hits and walked one batter, but he was able to minimize the damage.

Cardinals rookie JJ Wetherholt collected two base hits, but overall, the offense stalled out. St. Louis racked up five base hits total. The Cardinals' offense just wasn't able to get going. One thing that also didn't help was the fact that Matt Svanson allowed four earned runs in 2/3 of an inning pitched. McGreevy allowed three runs in five innings pitched. Justin Bruihl followed with two scoreless innings to keep the Cardinals in striking distance. Then, Svanson gave up four runs and it was the nail in the coffin. All of a sudden, the score jumped from 3-0 to 7-0.

The Cardinals Hurler Has Been Struggling

May 6, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Matt Svanson (49) pitches against the Milwaukee Brewers during the ninth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Matt Svanson tonight:

0.2 IP, 5 H, 4 ER

His season ERA is up to 9.64 #STLCards pic.twitter.com/4TOTUnNwZS

— STL Sports Central (@STLSprtsCntrl) May 21, 2026

It has been a very tough season for Svanson. He now has a 9.64 ERA in 22 appearances. This comes after he pitched to a 1.94 ERA in 39 outings last season for the Cardinals as a rookie.

The Cardinals are using the 2026 season to give young guys opportunities, but it arguably should be time to give Svanson a chance to reset down in Triple-A. Before Wednesday's outing, he had slowly started to look better. He entered the contest with three straight scoreless outings under his belt, but he allowed a run in his two previous outings before that. So, he has allowed at least one run in three of his last six appearances. In his last 10 outings, he has an 8.38 ERA in 9 2/3 innings pitched.

This isn't to say that he shouldn't help this team again this season. But a reset period down in Triple-A could be good for him. The Cardinals have options who could replace him in the short term, like Luis Gastelum or even Jared Shuster. Also, former Cardinal Matt Bowman was cut by the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday and would be a good addition if the Cardinals looked externally. Former Los Angeles Dodgers flamethrower Michael Kopech is also available right now as well.

There are options and the Cardinals should look into one at this point.