Cardinals have no questions left to answer regarding bullpen brigade

JUPITER, Fla. -- After Saturday’s 7-4 victory over the Marlins, the Cardinals optioned right-hander Gordon Graceffo to Triple-A Memphis, which means St. Louis’ bullpen is set for the start of the 2026 season. The relievers will include Justin Bruihl, Riley O’Brien, Matt Pushard, JoJo Romero, Chris Roycroft, George Soriano, Ryne Stanek and Matt Svanson.

“All those guys competed extremely well. There were tough decisions. Those guys have earned it and they get a shot of being there on Opening Day,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said.

In three appearances this spring, Graceffo, 26, pitched three scoreless innings. He was also a member of Team Italy, which advanced to the quarterfinals of this year’s World Baseball Classic. Whenever Graceffo returns to the big leagues, he will come out of the bullpen and pitch multiple innings.

“[We want Graceffo to] continue to build up. If he is going to help us, he is going [to pitch multiple innings]. Being able to do that is going to be important,” Marmol said.

Pushard and Soriano are new to St. Louis’ relief corps. Soriano, who was acquired in a February trade that sent right-hander Andre Granillo to the Nationals, didn’t allow a run in seven innings, and struck out nine batters this spring.

“Soriano did a nice job," Marmol said. "We [traded for him] and he was able to get comfortable pretty quick as far as just being around. The stuff coming out of the hand is impressive. His mix is good out of the ‘pen. His velo is there. He did a lot of things well. I’m glad we did what we did there.”

Pushard, who was a Rule 5 pick from the Marlins, allowed three runs in 8 ⅔ innings and struck out nine batters this spring. Those three runs came early during the exhibition season because he was under the weather and lost a significant amount of weight. Pushard pitched in Saturday’s game and pitched two scoreless innings. His fastball was clocked as high as 96 miles per hour.

“He pitched multiple innings today, and when you make that move [sending Graceffo down], someone has to take on multiple innings, and he has been able to do it before,” Marmol said.

The Cardinals are expected to make roster decisions on the position players on Sunday.