St. Louis Cardinals: 2 disappointments who need to be DFA’d
By John Buhler
The St. Louis Cardinals continue to be one of the most disappointing teams in all of baseball.
In a season with so many expectations, the 2021 St. Louis Cardinals have come up painfully short.
St. Louis was expected to contend for the NL Central crown, possibly representing the National League in the 2021 World Series. Unfortunately, the starting rotation has been abysmal and the Cardinals find themselves below .500 in the final week heading into the All-Star break. They may need to make a move here soon, which could include a demotion or a flat-out release of a guy.
Which players have been the biggest disappointments and may end up losing their roster spots?
St. Louis Cardinals: 2 disappointments who might get sent down, or even DFA’ed
Pick Analysis. Johan Oviedo. player. Scouting Report. RHP. St. Louis Cardinals. 2. 33
Pitching deep into ballgames has been a season-long issue for Johan Oviedo
While he did pitch well in his most recent start, we have to wonder how much longer Johan Oviedo will occupy that last spot in the Cardinals rotation. The 23-year-old right-hander from Havana is still a rookie, but he has yet to earn his first big league win in 16 career appearances over the last two seasons. He is 0-4 this year with a 5.14 ERA and a 1.551 WHIP in 10 starts for the Cardinals.
Oviedo has yielded the Cardinals only two quality starts this season. In seven of those starts, he did not make it through five innings of work. While he is still under contract with the Cardinals through 2026, we have to wonder how many more opportunities he is going to get at a critical point in St. Louis’ season. They will not release him, but they might send him down for a spell.
If St. Louis falls out of it and is playing for next year, then the Cardinals should have no issue of trotting him out there every fifth day to get precious starting reps in an otherwise lost season. However, they cannot expect to make up ground in the NL Central standings with Oviedo toeing the rubber every fifth day. He might be the future in St. Louis, but the present is not all that great.
If Oviedo gets one last good start in before the All-Star break, that could be a huge boost for him.