Cooper Hjerpe, who has pitched well in 2026 after working his way back from Tommy John surgery in April of 2025, was promoted to the Cardinals on Sunday. Hancel Rincón, who found himself embroiled in a national controversy over how he wore his tilted hat on Friday, was sent back to Triple-A.
Cardinals’ rookie reliever Hancel Rincón, who found himself in the middle of a national sports controversy on Friday night when he was chided by veteran umpire Doug Eddings for the alignment of his cap, was demoted to Triple-A Memphis following Saturday’s loss to the Rockies.
Rincón, 24, was stopped in the middle of making his MLB debut on Friday night at Coors Field and told to straighten up his hat, was demoted after surrendering two hits, a walk and four earned runs in Saturday’s 10-7 loss to the Rockies.
Left-handed pitcher Cooper Hjerpe, a first-round pick in 2022 who has pitched well this season while working his way back from Tommy John surgery in April of 2025, was promoted by the Cardinals for what could be his MLB debut when he gets into a game. The 25-year-old Hjerpe, who has had his workload limited while returning from injury, has posted a 0.95 ERA over five starts at Triple-A Memphis. He has struck out 27 batters in 19 innings of work in Triple-A.
Hjerpe was placed on the Cardinals’ 40-man roster over the offseason to protect him from being potentially plucked in the Rule 5 Draft. He rewarded that faith by working way back onto the mound this season, making two rehab starts in the Florida Complex League, three starts for Class-A Palm Beach and five starts at Double-A Springfield before being promoted to Triple-A Memphis for the first time in his pro career. In 42 innings over 15 Minor League starts, Hjerpe has pitched to a 3.00 ERA and has struck out 61 in 42 innings. Foes have hit just .151 against him this season.
The Cardinals have hit something of an innings crisis of late with starters Andre Pallante and Kyle Leahy having their workloads purposefully curtailed. Pallante, a 12-game winner who pitched well over five innings on Friday in Colorado, recently returned from a stint on the Injured List because of right elbow inflammation. Leahy, who has a streak a 12 straight starts of allowing two or fewer earned runs on the line when he starts today in Colorado, has blown past his previous career high for MLB innings (88) with 129 1/3 going into today. The Cardinals have limited him to five innings or fewer in his last five starts.
Hjerpe, the No. 18-ranked prospect in the Cardinals' organization, per MLB Pipeline, could assume some of the innings behind Leahy and/or Pallante in "piggyback" scenarios.
Rincón was 6-6 with a 4.03 in 43 outings at Triple-A Memphis prior to being promoted to the big leagues on Tuesday when MLB rosters expanded to 28 on Sept. 1. In his two MLB outings on Friday and Saturday, he allowed five hits, a walk, an inside-the-park home run and seven earned runs in 1 1/3 innings of work. He registered his first MLB strikeout on Saturday night when he got Colorado’s Zack Veen to chase a changeup below the zone, and the ball was thrown out and authenticated for his trophy case.
