The Cardinals are heading into the second half without JoJo Romero, and that creates a fresh wrinkle for a bullpen arm who had already been sitting near the center of trade chatter.
Romero was placed on the 15-day injured list with appendicitis, and the club has not offered any update on how he is doing. The move comes just as St.
Louis opens the second half of the 2026 season tonight in Arizona. To fill the roster spot, the Cardinals added reliever Scott Blewett to the 40-man roster and designated Yohel Pozo for assignment.
Romero’s situation matters because he has been viewed as a possible trade candidate. He’s in the final year of club control, and the Cardinals were expected to be open for business at the deadline. Their strong start has already made that a more complicated call, and now the injury adds another layer of uncertainty.
His IL stint was backdated to July 14, which means the earliest he can return is July 29, only five days before the deadline. Even if he’s ready by then, that’s a tiny window to convince other clubs he’s fully back. Appendicitis can also lead to weight loss and a longer ramp-up to full strength, so the timeline may not be as simple as it looks on paper.
If Romero is healthy, he should still draw attention. Left-handed relievers are always in demand, and he’d likely be among the better options available.
He has a 3.35 ERA in 44 appearances this season and has struck out 23.1% of the batters he’s faced. The issue has been the long ball: his home run-to-fly ball rate has climbed back up after sitting at just 4% last season, and that’s a big reason his run prevention has slipped.
The Cardinals may have been leaning toward keeping him anyway, but this injury makes that decision tougher and could also dent his value.
Blewett now gets a shot to help a bullpen that has struggled badly. The 30-year-old triggered an opt-out clause in his contract, leaving St.
Louis with a choice between adding him to the roster or letting him become a free agent. With Romero unavailable, the Cardinals chose to bring him up and see what he can offer.
Blewett’s Triple-A numbers are a mixed bag. He has struck out 28% of the hitters he’s faced and walked only 8%, but opposing batters have managed a .425 batting average on balls in play against him. That fits with the 45.6% hard-hit rate he allowed and his sub-50th percentile xBA and xSLG against.
Still, some correction on balls in play seemed inevitable, and now Blewett has a chance to prove he can hold a spot in the Cardinals’ bullpen. If he can’t, the team likely won’t wait long to move on and try another arm.
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