ST. LOUIS -- On the heels of trading three of their top relief pitchers before last Thursday’s MLB Trade Deadline, the Cardinals continued adding relievers who could potentially provide depth in their bullpen over the rest of the 2025 season.
The Cards were awarded the waiver claim for right-handed reliever Jorge Alcala on Thursday after he had been designated for assignment by the Red Sox. On Monday, the Cards claimed lefty reliever Anthony Veneziano off waivers from the Marlins and optioned him to Triple-A Memphis.
The Cardinals traded Ryan Helsley to the Mets, Phil Maton to the Rangers and Steven Matz to the Red Sox last week for a combined six Minor League players. Since then, JoJo Romero -- the only lefty in the team’s bullpen -- has successfully converted both of his save opportunities, while also picking up a win in Wednesday’s come-from-behind 5-3 victory over the Dodgers. Also, Riley O’Brien notched the first save of his MLB career in Wednesday’s win.
“I think about when we opened up the [2024] year here [at Dodger Stadium] and how different I felt,” said O’Brien, who received a laundry cart ride into the showers where he was bathed in beer, chocolate milk and baby powder following his first MLB save. “Way more nerves and a little more rattled out there [last season]. This year, I feel comfortable.”
Alcala, 30, was 0-2 with a 6.64 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 40 2/3 innings pitched over 41 games with the Twins and Red Sox in 2025. The Dominican Republic native, who made his MLB debut in 2019, allowed five earned runs in 3 1/3 innings pitched in his last five games with Boston.
In seven seasons with Minnesota and Boston, Alcala went 9-13 with a 4.24 ERA with 211 strikeouts in 204 innings pitched over 185 relief appearances.