Cardinals: Trevor Rosenthal back in closer role?

The Cardinals bullpen is the most recent to undergo some changes. After Seung-hwan Oh blew a save earlier in the week, Trevor Rosenthal could be back as the closer.

The St. Lous Cardinals have not been the team we expected them to be. The team is three games under .500 but just five games back in the National League Central. One of the things that needed changing to help lead to success in the second half is the bullpen, most specifically the closer role.

It started by Seung-hwan Oh allowing five runs in his first three appearances, 12.27 ERA. He settled down and recorded six saves in his final seven April appearances. This small sample size was just a sign of things to come.

Oh has a 4.07 ERA 1.429 WHIP, 8.1 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 with 18 saves in 21 chances. After his successful end to 2016, it made sense for him to be the starting closer this year. Unfortunately, it hasn’t worked out.

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The Cardinals have enough pieces in the bullpen to replace Oh. Brett Cecil has a 3.55 ERA, 1.289 WHIP and 35:12 K:BB ratio. The low strikeout rate doesn’t bode well for someone looking become a closer. No, this is where veteran Trevor Rosenthal comes in.

Rosenthal has some saves spread out throughout the season. He also has a 3.72 ERA, 1.156 WHIP, 14.4 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 in 36.1 innings. The walks are a bit concerning but if he can bring that strikeout rate to the ninth inning, he’ll have his fantasy value back.

He has been the ninth-most added pitcher in ESPN leagues, up 7.4 percent over the last week. This was a result of Manager Mike Matheny naming Rosenthal as the next in line to receive saves.

Days later, Rosenthal gave up a run on two hits and a walk and received the loss Thursday against the Mets.

While the timing of this outing couldn’t be worse, I still think Rosenthal will get more saves than his teammates for the rest of the season.

He has the experience with the Cardinals in the ninth inning. Cecil is just one of two lefties in the bullpen, so I don’t see him pitching in the ninth. He’s better as a situational pitcher. Oh needs to get his control down before he sniffs the ninth inning again.

Next: Early look at 2018 fantasy draft

Closers are changing more frequently than ever, especially with the trade deadline approaching. We already saw David Robertson lose value because of a trade. Owners are looking for saves any way they can and I think Rosenthal can help you in the final two-plus months.