Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals Pushed To Cut Ties With 7-Year Veteran Reliever

The Cardinals could make a move...
Zach Pressnell|
Sep 5, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; A detailed view of the hat and glove of St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Nolan Gorman (not pictured) before a game against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Sep 5, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; A detailed view of the hat and glove of St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Nolan Gorman (not pictured) before a game against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

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St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals have made a few aggressive moves this season. They traded multiple star relievers at the trade deadline to net a few solid prospects in return.

Now, the Cardinals could continue to build for the future by cutting bait with other pieces on the roster. In fact, there are multiple pieces on the roster who shouldn't be in St. Louis.

Stephen Parello of Redbird Rants recently urged the Cardinals to waive reliever Jorge Alcala before the season ends.

Jorge Alcala is on borrowed time in St. Louis this season

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jorge Alcal
Aug 18, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Jorge Alcala (56) delivers a pitch against the Miami Marlins during the ninth inning at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

"Like Hampson, Alcala has been well-traveled in 2025, with his Twins tenure coming to an end, resulting in a layover in Boston before making his way to St. Louis earlier this month," Parello wrote. "Unlike the others, Alcala has shown reasons to be optimistic about his future over the past few weeks. As a Cardinal, the 30-year-old righty has pitched to a 1.69 ERA in an albeit limited sample of just 5.1 innings. He also did a serviceable job for the Red Sox with a 3.31 ERA over 16.1 innings of work in Beantown. Yet the bulk of his run this year came with the Twins, where he bled runs, posting an 8.88 ERA over 24.1 frames.

"However, the regression in 2025, combined with him entering his final year of arbitration, makes him an expendable middle innings piece. St. Louis can find an arm to fill those innings with either more upside or a cheaper price tag next season. Therefore, it makes sense to get a jump on that search and cut Alcala loose before the end of the season."

The Cardinals are building for the future, and Alcala has no place in the future of this organization.

The righty has struggled and is heading toward the end of his contract. It's unlikely the Cardinals will look to bring him back after the season ends, so replacing him with a prospect reliever would make a lot of sense.

St. Louis has every reason in the world to cut ties with Alcala, but practically no reason to keep him on the roster. The fact that he's made it this far is shocking, but it shouldn't continue any longer.

More MLB: Cardinals Rumors: St. Louis Pushed To Cut Ties With 8-Year Veteran OF

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Zach Pressnell
ZACH PRESSNELL

Zach Pressnell has experience covering all major US sports at both the professional and collegiate levels. He’s produced content for FanSided, Blog Red Machine, The Game Haus, Bethany College Athletics and the Bethany College online newspaper, He graduated from Bethany College (WV) with a degree in Communications and Media Arts, specializing in Sports Journalism. Pressnell was also a four-year member of the baseball team where he earned himself All-PAC recognition as a pitcher (and a cool Tommy John surgery scar). Now, Pressnell specializes in NFL and MLB coverage for Sports Illustrated’s “On SI” network among others. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "St. Louis Cardinals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org

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