Cardinals demote a relief pitcher, but it’s not Jordan Hicks

The St. Louis Cardinals sent down reliever Andre Pallante, meaning Jordan Hicks remains in the bullpen despite his recent struggles.

Less than a day after giving up a grand slam to Arizona Diamondbacks slugger Pavin Smith, the St. Louis Cardinals have sent down relief pitcher Andre Pallante.

Pallante was a surprising choice to make the Opening Day roster, and a tremendous story in St. Louis. Sadly, one mistake was enough for the Cards to pull the trigger and send Pallante down to Triple-A, where he’ll join the Memphis bullpen.

In his steed, Oli Marmol and Co. will call up JoJo Romero, a left-handed pitcher who will primarily pitch out of the bullpen. Romero had a 3.77 ERA in 15 appearances for the Cardinals last season.

Cardinals: Why is Jordan Hicks still on the roster?

Oli Marmol wants Jordan Hicks to find his groove in low-stress situations, AKA blowouts, on the major-league team. The unfortunate fault in that tactic is that he’s taking up a roster spot which could go to a reliever who isn’t plagued by the same issues Hicks is having.

In his two most recent outings against the Pirates, Hicks was essentially responsible for the defeat. St. Louis was able to split the series, but for a team with such high expectations entering the season, fans are beginning to turn.

As Redbird Rants pointed out, Hicks hasn’t been good in quite some time. Sure, he’s out of options, but would any team claim him at this point?

"“Hicks has not been good for over three years. Since missing the 2020 season after opting out, the right-hander has posted a 5.40, 4.84, and now a 12.71 ERA in consecutive seasons. There was a lot of optimism entering Spring Training that Hicks could revamp some of his repertoire and return to being a high-leverage reliever for the Cardinals. If anything, it feels like he has taken major steps back in his development.”"

It’s a curious decision by Marmol to keep Hicks on the roster at all.