ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - The St. Louis Cardinals' quest to acquire pitchers this offseason began Sunday as they have acquired a pitcher from the Seattle Mariners. No, it's not the ones you're thinking about.
According to MLB transaction logs, the Cardinals have acquired minor-league relief pitcher Riley O'Brien from the Mariners for cash considerations.
O'Brien spent all of the 2023 season in the minors for the Mariners in Triple-A and he was good for the Tacoma Rainiers, pitching a solid 2.29 ERA and striking out 37.7% batters in his 55 innings of relief in hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. However, he also walked nearly 15% of the batters he faced last season, but was able to get away with it due to his high strikeout percentage.
In an offseason where the Cardinals have prioritized its goals of improving both their starting and relief pitching ranks, O'Brien will obviously be only the start of their endeavors.
In a really no-risk move, O'Brien minor league numbers numbers will intrigue the team enough to certainly have give him a chance to fight for a spot in the Cardinals bullpen during Spring Training next year where Giovanny Gallegos, Ryan Helsley and JoJo Romero are seen as probably the only real locks for spots in the bullpen next year.