Cardinals Pros and Cons of Removing Riley O'Brien as Closer

The St. Louis Cardinals have the National League leader in saves, but should they make a change?

This is a topic that has been floating around the Cardinals' fanbase recently when it comes to Riley O'Brien. The righty has appeared in 58 games for the Cardinals this season and is leading the league with 35 saves and 48 games finished. While this is the case, he's been cold over the last week, or so.

O'Brien has allowed at least one run in three of his last five outings and has an eye-popping 20.25 ERA over that stretch in four innings pitched. The reason why that ERA number is so high is because of a back-breaking outing against the Philadelphia Phillies on Aug. 23 when he allowed six runs in 2/3 innings of work. As a reliever, the ERA can be skewed quickly by a crooked number. Right now, O'Brien has a 4.18 ERA overall this season in his 58 outings. Before the six-run outburst, he had a 2.94 ERA in 53 appearances.

He hasn't been at his best over the last week, which has led to questions about his role. With that being said, let's look at the pros and cons of making a change.

Pros

Aug 26, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Riley O'Brien (61) walks off the field after the ninth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Clearly, O'Brien hasn't looked quite like himself over the last week. In his last five outings, he allowed nine total runs. It's not even as if the home run ball has been killing him. He allowed one homer in the six-run appearance against the Phillies, but that's the only long ball he gave up over the last five games. But guys have been hitting him hard. In his last five outings, there has been just one game in which he didn't allow a base hit. O'Brien gave up 10 base hits over his last four innings of work.

The Cardinals don't have great odds of making the playoffs, but they aren't out of it yet. Every game matters at this point. If the Cardinals were to make a change, someone like Gordon Graceffo would be a very intriguing option to give a shot. Right now, he has a 2.78 ERA in 55 total appearances. Plus, he has finished 15 games this season and has one save.

Cons

Is it a bad week, or has something changed with O'Brien? Arguably, It could be a mixture of both. He has already surpassed his career highs in both games (58) and innings pitched (56 innings). Last year, he pitched in 42 games and tallied 48 innings, which were both career highs at the time by far.

While this is the case, arguably it would be a little quick to make a change. This is a guy who had a 2.94 ERA through his first 53 outings of the season. He dominated and earned his first All-Star nod as a result. This isn't to minimize the struggles from the last week.

If they continue, then a change should be made. But this is a bullpen that already has had issues all season. O'Brien has been a bright spot the entire time until now. What if the grass isn't greener on the other side and someone else steps in who hasn't been consistently closing and struggles even more? He deserves the benefit of the doubt to see if he can fix this.

We have a 53-game sample size of O'Brien being very good before this past week. Last year, he had a 2.06 ERA in 42 total appearances. The Cardinals found something in him. St. Louis should stick by him in the closer role, at least for a little longer.

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