The St. Louis Cardinals nearly gutted much of their bullpen arms during the MLB trade deadline. They traded away Steven Matz, Phil Maton, and Ryan Helsley, and got some value in return. However, this leaves the current bullpen with just one left-handed reliever, JoJo Romero.
There is no denying that the club needs another left-handed option for the backend of games, and that is where John King comes into play. He has been on the 15-day IL since July 30, but is progressing well and is well on his way to returning to the club.
Needing to make room for King, the Cards will have to send someone down. Fansided's Zachary Rotman predicts that Roddery Munoz will be the player who gets the short end of the stick.
Munoz has appeared in eight games thus far in 2025 for St. Louis. During that time, he compiled a 6.52 ERA and 11 strikeouts on 9.2 innings of work. He has struggled, but he only has 26 games of big-league experience.
Munoz has a lot of talent, and the club would like to see him gain more experience at this level. However, the need for another lefty likely outweighs that desire. The righty could be optioned back down to Triple-A, allowing him to continue to adjust things in a less-pressured environment.
King recently threw a full-effort bullpen session on Wednesday. The lefty aims to begin his rehab assignment over the weekend and get back with his club, helping them fight for a postseason spot.