The Cardinals bullpen is starting to look like the Titanic. Can they avoid the iceberg?

Packy Naughton’s appearance on the mound this week at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, carried with it a not insignificant amount of irony.

The St. Louis Cardinals, primarily under former manager Mike Shildt, resisted with gusto the suggestion they could benefit from employing an “opener” strategy with their pitching staff. The Tampa Bay Rays, long on the forefront squeezing maximum return from their minimal investment in players, were one of the first teams to adopt intentionally short starts as part of their normal routine.

So far, St. Louis appears to have a lot to learn.

Naughton’s nine-batter appearance was his second in a row in which he was allowed to face each opposing hitter precisely once. At home against the Padres on May 30, he struck out four over 2 1/3 innings pitched, and the Cardinals came away with a 6-3 victory. In Tampa on June 8, he recorded only four outs and was thumped for five hits (including three doubles) and four earned runs.

Between those appearances, Naughton sat on the active roster. For eight days, he did his work in the St. Louis bullpen, and seemingly warmed to enter a game only once. He did, at least, have company. Johan Oviedo made a spot start as part of a doubleheader June 4, and didn’t pitch again until following Naughton’s appearance June 8. Zack Thompson made his Major League debut with a four-inning save June 3, and will at minimum go a full week without pitching — again on the active roster all the while.

As the Cardinals balance the uncertain return dates of both Jordan Hicks and Steven Matz, it’s not a surprise to see them piecing together pitching with bubblegum and shoestring. Their oft-discussed innings gap has blossomed into a problem too large to ignore, and Cincinnati’s weekend visit offers an eerie mirror to a similar series last June which saw St. Louis swept and, for all intents and purposes, knocked out of serious contention for the title in the National League Central.

Events in 2022 have some important differences. The Reds, for one, are a stunningly bad team, and the Milwaukee Brewers have spit the bit themselves, offering the Cardinals the lifeline of their own extended losing streak even as the Redbirds were swept by Tampa Bay. The uncertainty around Hicks and Matz is paired with the linear progression of Jack Flaherty, who has checked every box with aplomb in his push to make his season debut following bursitis in his throwing shoulder.

What options are available?

Still, what may arrive soon has not arrived yet. Rookie Andre Pallante proved himself to be one of the club’s four most reliable bullpen arms early in the season, and was rewarded with his own set of opportunities as a starter. Giovanny Gallegos and Ryan Helsley continue to be handled gently by manager Oliver Marmol, with proclamations coming from the office that other pitchers have to find a way to get outs; the Cardinals intend on having their top arms ready for the postseason, not struggling to arrive on fumes.

The numbers suggest there’s virtue in patience. With the postseason expanding to 12 teams, Baseball Reference’s postseason probabilities give the Cardinals a greater than 90% chance of reaching the playoffs. Gone is the one-game Wild Card elimination format, replaced by a three-game series; the Cardinals no longer have to face the fear of their season ending in the vapor trail of one misplaced changeup.

In addition to Gallegos and Helsley, lefty Génesis Cabrera is well established in the circle of bullpen trust. His four-inning performance at Wrigley on Sunday, June 5, was gutsy and necessary, and ought to have been accompanied by a “help wanted” sign hung from his back in his final two innings. Righty Drew VerHagen, advertised as a rotation candidate in spring, has been given multiple opportunities to assist Pallante in a valuable “bridge” role, only to falter with each chance given.

More about scuffling bullpen

Veteran lefty T.J. McFarland and veteran righty Nick Wittgren have struggled mightly, with either or both seemingly teetering on the verge of losing roster spots which they inherited by right and with promise. Both carry the pedigree of valuable depth; they can pitch multiple days in a row or for multiple innings, their stuff suggests an ability to limit damage, and they have the sorts of personalities which help keep the volatility of relief pitching in proper context.

What neither has done reliably, though, is get outs. And as the Cardinals sift their staff into something resembling a stable form, McFarland in particular could be threatened by the emergence of Thompson, who Marmol has said intrigues the club (in the short term) from the bullpen.

Three relievers trusted. Three more under glass. Three veterans twisting in the wind. That’s a difficult way to put together a pitching staff, and the Cardinals can ill afford to continue to hope the puzzle pieces assemble themselves. Someone else does indeed need to figure out how to get outs; first, they have to be handed the ball.