Cardinals Projected to Cut Southpaw After Acquiring Him in Trade

The St. Louis Cardinals may not be widely expected to compete for the playoffs this year, but they certainly have some of the league's most competitive roster battles in spring training.

As a young team, the Cardinals are searching for their perfect pitching formula after an offseason of heavy turnover. There are a lot of new names, many of whom struggled to break through with other organizations, looking to make the opening day roster.

Among those names: left-hander Justin Bruihl, who the Cardinals acquired in a January trade with the Cleveland Guardians. Bruihl had just been waived, so St. Louis got aggressive and gave Cleveland cash considerations to jump the line on the waiver wire.

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Is Bruihl going to miss roster cutdown?

Jul 13, 2025; West Sacramento, California, USA; Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Justin Bruihl (58) throws a pitch against the Athletics during the fifth inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images | Dennis Lee-Imagn Images

If Bruihl does not make the Cardinals' opening day roster, he'll need to be waived once again, which would create a strong possibility of St. Louis losing him.

However, on Thursday, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat predicted that Bruihl would indeed be cut, thanks to the strong spring thus far from fellow left-hander Packy Naughton.

"This is a group with four concrete spots – (Riley) O’Brien, (JoJo) Romero, (Ryne) Stanek, (Matt) Svanson – and a fifth that will be a second lefty," Jones explained.

"It would be somewhat strange to risk losing Justin Bruihl, who has been perfectly adequate, on waivers, but Naughton is one of the feel-good stories of camp, so there’s a thought to picking the upside. Nick Raquet is also a candidate in that derby, as is Brycen Mautz in a longer-use, more bulk innings type of role."

Bruihl, 28, appeared in 15 games last season for the American League champion Toronto Blue Jays. His 5.27 ERA in 13 2/3 innings was just above his career average of 4.72 in five seasons. He's also pitched for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Colorado Rockies, and Pittsburgh Pirates.

Every spring training outing matters for the likes of Bruihl, Naughton, Raquet, and Mautz. To some extent, it's an advantage for Bruihl to be out of options, but after allowing three earned runs in his first 2 2/3 innings, he'll need to quickly right the ship.