Cardinals Showing Major Reason for Concern With 24 Games Left

The St. Louis Cardinals have been firing on all cylinders recently, to say the least.

Apr 21, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; A St. Louis Cardinals hat and glove in the dugout against the Atlanta Braves in the first inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The St. Louis Cardinals aren't firing on all cylinders right now.

St. Louis is 3-7 over its last 10 games and currently is two games below .500 at 68-70. The Cardinals have just 24 games left in the 2026 Major League Baseball regular season.

It's a different feeling right now than the entirety of the first half of the season. St. Louis entered the season with low expectations, but was great across the first few months of the season. So much so that it was a real question for a while whether the Cardinals would change course and not sell pieces ahead of the deadline. This question was posed to both Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom as well as Cardinals CEO Bill DeWitt III. It seemed like the Cardinals could do no wrong. But right now, it's the opposite.

The club has stayed relatively healthy through much of the season to this point, but they're now piling up. Right now, the Cardinals are missing JJ Wetherholt, Masyn Winn, Andre Pallante, Hunter Dobbins, Peter Strzelecki, Blaze Jordan and Everson Pereira. Not what you want to see at this point. The injuries are getting most of the headlines for the club right now, but there's more going on. For example, St. Louis is struggling overall from a pitching standpoint.

The Cardinals Have A Pitching Problem

Feb 26, 2021; Jupiter, Florida, USA; A general view of the St. Louis Cardinals logo on the stadium at Roger Dean Stadium during spring training workouts. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports

Over the last week, the Cardinal have the 28th-ranked team ERA in baseball at 6.17. That's not going to cut it. While the Cardinals don't look like a playoff team right now, that doesn't mean these games aren't important. Especially with the injuries piling up, the Cardinals are getting looks at guys and will be able to determine who should have a shot in 2026, and who shouldn't.

For example, the Cardinals released Caleb Ferguson on Sunday, despite acquiring him ahead of the 2026 trade deadline from the Cincinnati Reds. Ferguson had an 8.64 ERA in 8 1/3 innings pitched in a Cardinals uniform. That certainly played into the club's bad ERA over the last week.

Pitching hasn't been just a problem for seven days, though. If you look a little further, the Cardinals have the 28th-ranked team ERA over the last 15 days at 5.89. Over the last 30 days, the Cardinals have the 24th-ranked team ERA at 4.49. Simply put, pitching has been a problem.

Now, of course, losing Pallante and Dobbins has added to that. But this was the case before they got hurt as well.

Over the last year, the Cardinals have added a lot of intriguing, young arms to the farm system by trading veterans away, like Jurrangelo Cijntje. Hopefully, we start to see some of these guys make the jump to the majors late this season, or in 2027. Regardless, the Cardinals have a lot work to do this offseason. The bullpen is a mess and has been for much of the season. Even with the injuries that have popped up, St. Louis should be better than 28th in the league in team ERA over the last week.