In a move designed to supplement their struggling bullpen, the Cardinals promoted veteran left-hander Jared Shuster and added him to their 40-man roster before Sunday night’s game in Detroit.

To make room for the 27-year-old Shuster, right-handed reliever Chris Roycroft was optioned to Memphis and lefty reliever Nick Raquet was designated for assignment.

The Cardinals face the Tigers as part of Sunday Night Baseball. Peacock and NBC Sports Network have the TV coverage. 

Shuster has 62 career MLB appearances (17 of them being starts) for the Braves and White Sox. He was a first-round pick (No. 25 overall) in the 2020 MLB Draft by the Braves. He reached the big leagues in 2023 as a starter where he went 4-3 with a 5.81 ERA in 11 games. He pitched for the White Sox in 2024 and ’25, where he worked mostly out of relief in 51 appearances.

Shuster last pitched on March 29, throwing 64 pitches over three innings of relief for Triple-A Memphis. He gives the Cardinals the long reliever they lacked coming into the season with Shuster being capable of covering multiple innings.

The Cards were forced to add Shuster to the 40-man roster because the transaction came within the first 15 days of Opening Day.

St. Louis’ bullpen was heavily taxed over the first two games of the series in Detroit with Michael McGreevy and Dustin May being knocked out early. The Cardinals bullpen came into Sunday night ranked 25th in MLB in ERA (5.29), tied for ninth in the most innings pitched (34), 26th in earned runs allowed (20) and tied for last in strikeouts (23).

The 6-foot-8, 230-pound Roycroft, who made it to the big leagues by way of the Independent League, has struggled with his command and some tough luck again in terms of weak contact this season. In five outings, he surrendered five earned runs, eight hits and five walks.

On Saturday in Detroit, the Cardinals rallied from a 7-1 deficit and got within 7-6 on a grand slam by right fielder Jordan Walker. However, the Cardinals bullpen failed to hold the Tigers at bay with Justin Bruihl (one earned run), Matt Svanson (one earned run) and Roycroft (two earned runs) surrendering damage.

Raquet, 30, was 1-0 in two games with the surging Memphis Redbirds this season. He reached the big leagues for his MLB debut last September and held foes scoreless over two innings of work in two outings.

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