The St. Louis Cardinals made few changes to their major league roster this offseason, even after parting ways with several former stars whose contracts expired.
One of the most notable departures was failing to re-sign All-Star reliever Andrew Kittredge, who secured a one-year, $10 million contract with the Baltimore Orioles for 2025.
Kittredge was vital to the Cardinals’ dominant bullpen last season but fortunately, there’s a young St. Louis hurler ready to instill fear into every batter he faces this year.
“(Oli) Marmol and the Cards are hopeful (Chris) Roycroft, 27, can take the next step on the heels of a rookie season where he struck out 33 batters in 34 1/3 innings,” MLB.com’s John Denton wrote Tuesday. “The Cardinals lost Andrew Kittredge — the National League leader in holds — in free agency, and they need a high-leverage reliever to get the ball to closer Ryan Helsley.”
Roycroft, who often visited Busch Stadium as a child and dreamed of pitching in the majors, faced challenges with nerves during his 2024 debut. He finished with a 1-2 record, a 4.19 ERA, 33 strikeouts to 17 walks, a .238 batting average against, and a 1.40 WHIP over 34 1/3 innings pitched for the Cardinals.
““I certainly try to inflict as much fear as I can into hitters,’ said Roycroft, who held foes to a .158 batting average last season with his four-seam fastball, per Baseball Savant,” Denton continued. “’A lot of that stems from watching Randy Johnson. He was a scary dude at 6-10 and he would throw at guys purposefully. There was a purpose to everything that he did and that’s what I’m after. I don’t want that [opposing] guy to feel comfortable at all in the box.’”
Standing at 6 feet 8 inches and weighing roughly 230 pounds, the homegrown right-handed pitcher’s intimidating size naturally makes hitters nervous, especially when standing on an elevated mound.
Hopefully, Roycroft will overcome his own anxieties and fears this season to provide the Cardinals with much-needed relief in the back of the bullpen.
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