Oli Marmol's preference for struggling relievers needs to change

If Jordan Walker can be sent down in April, so can Ryan Fernandez.

After another loss where the bullpen crashed and burned a once-close game, St. Louis Cardinals manager Oli Marmol was asked about using Ryan Fernandez in another high-leverage situation. Here are Marmol’s comments, per The Athletic’s Katie Woo:

“This is who we got and we got to get them back on track. We have to get these guys better, and the only way is for them to pitch.”

While a part of his statement isn’t wrong, Marmol is wrong about repeatedly using Fernandez in big moments. Chris Roycroft was getting lit up, and he was sent down. The past two Aprils, Jordan Walker was sent down after struggling. You can’t pick and choose which arms you lean extra hard on while demoting others. Jose Fermin would still like a word, Oli, about that Major League promotion on Opening Day.

Comments like these from the manager make it hard to defend him and also reveal his inexperience. He still stands behind moves that don’t make sense four seasons in. The decision to resist using closer Ryan Helsley in a non-save spot on the road is debatable, but pushing this button doesn’t check out. If Fernandez comes out and turns a close game into a loss, he needs to take a couple of weeks in Memphis to figure things out. Or, he can come into games where the margin for error is greater.

Last time I checked, he wasn’t the second coming of greatness or the team’s future closer, so the desire to repeatedly go to him, even in the shallow water of April, is faulty thinking. What about Matt Svanson? He’s pitched in one game this season, and that was a week ago in New York. Is he busy doing something else for the team besides running a poker game in the bullpen?

Marmol is falling into the trap of relying on a handful of arms instead of examining the entire roster. All he wanted to do last year was send out Andrew Kittredge, JoJo Romero, and Helsley to protect leads or keep tied games in place, and that eventually blew up in a manager’s face. While Kyle Leahy has acquitted himself well and the Romero/Helsley part of that trio have done well for the most part in 2025, Fernandez has allowed runs in six of his eleven outings thus far.

If that doesn’t demand a change, I don’t know what does with an active season. The Cardinals are 10-15, and could sit in a worse spot without a couple of timely hits from young players. If Nolan Gorman doesn’t smack that bases-clearing triple the other night, the road trip looks like a dumpster fire. After being a strength last year, the bullpen is a liability this month, and the Cardinals can’t afford that with this quality of a team.

Instead of telling the media that we have to get these guys right, make the necessary big boy moves that constitute using the entire bullpen staff. Leaning on hazards like Fernandez makes Roycroft’s demotion seem pointless. What happened to getting that guy right? He’s doing so in Memphis. Walker spent most of last season in the minors “getting things right.”

Marmol isn't long for this job if he can’t make these simple decisions as the season ages.