Cardinals pitchers Andre Granillo, right, and Max Rajcic throw in the bullpen on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025, during spring training at the team鈥檚 facility in Jupiter, Fla.
MILWAUKEE 鈥 When he saw the area code glow on the face of his phone 鈥 Memphis鈥 901 鈥 Andre Granillo thought, briefly, that this call might be The Call, but that flickering sensation didn鈥檛 lead to any certainty when he heard he was headed to the Cardinals.
鈥淎re you serious?鈥 he recalled asking Ben Johnson, Class AAA Memphis鈥 manager.
鈥淵eah,鈥 came the reply Granillo remembered. 鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 joke about that.鈥
Granillo鈥檚 roommate, fellow Triple-A prospect Michael McGreevy, seized him in a congratulatory hug. The next call to make was Granillo鈥檚 to dial, and he reached his mom.
鈥淭hen the waterworks came out,鈥 he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 not afraid to say it. I cried.鈥
A promotion at least a week and dozens of strikeouts in the making arrived Thursday as the Cardinals brought Granillo to the majors to bring a whiff of depth and potential to the bullpen. The right-hander has 46 strikeouts in 29 2/3 innings for the Cardinals鈥 top affiliate, and his 13.96 strikeouts per nine innings leads all pitchers in the Pacific Coast League who have faced at least 90 batters.
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Granillo struck out 39.6% of the 116 batters he鈥檚 faced.
He has more appearances this season (18) than hits allowed (17), and opponents are only getting hits in 15.9% of their at-bats against the strapping, 6-foot-4 right-hander.
鈥淭he reports have been good,鈥 said manager Oliver Marmol, who earlier in the week used a colorful adjective to describe how 鈥済reat鈥 the evaluations were of the right-hander. 鈥淟ook at the swings and miss 鈥 it鈥檚 impressive. Being able to bring him up here and see what it looks like against big-league hitters is something I鈥檓 looking forward to.鈥
Granillo鈥檚 promotion was part of a series of moves the Cardinals made ahead of their four-game series against division rival Milwaukee.
The Cardinals optioned right-hander Chris Roycroft to Memphis to create room on the active roster and in the bullpen for Granillo. The Cardinals also designated outfielder Ryan Vilade for assignment so they could open a spot on the 40-player roster for Granillo. Center fielder Michael Siani returned from Class AAA Memphis to take Vilade鈥檚 spot on the bench.
During Toronto鈥檚 series sweep in 51黑料, the Cardinals pitching staff鈥檚 lack of swing and miss was highlighted by the Blues Jays鈥 constant-contact lineup. The Cardinals rank 29th in the majors with a rate of 7.14 strikeouts per nine, ahead of only the crumbling Colorado Rockies鈥 6.92. The Cardinals bullpen鈥檚 strikeouts-per-nine rate of 7.47 ranks last in the majors, just behind the division-leading Chicago Cubs鈥 7.49.
To bullpen options, Granillo adds a pitch he learned from a former Cardinals reliever.
As a freshman at UC-Riverside, his coach and former Cardinals reliever Troy Percival suggested he needed a pitch other than his curveball to get swings and misses. Percival showed Granillo the grip for a cut fastball, and with Granillo鈥檚 delivery, the pitch had a bigger bend to it and became a hard, biting slider.
鈥淚 never looked back,鈥 Granillo said.
The Cardinals selected him the 14th round of the 2021 draft, and Granillo rose steadily through the minors, even arriving at big league spring training in 2023 as an off-the-radar reliever who could contribute at some point. Granillo had a 1.47 ERA in his first 14 appearances at Class AA Springfield (Missouri) that season and earned a promotion to Triple-A Memphis, where his season stalled. In 46 2/3 innings he struck out 57 but walked 31.
He had to look elsewhere for a solution and found it after a blunt challenge from a personal pitching coach, Brandon James, in San Diego.
鈥淭he glaring thing was my walks,鈥 Granillo said. 鈥淗e didn鈥檛 sugarcoat it: 鈥榊ou鈥檙e not ready to be a big leaguer because you walk everybody.鈥 I was like, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e right.鈥 If I don鈥檛 punch them out, I walk them. They weren鈥檛 hitting me. It was a slap in the face to hear him say, 鈥楬ere is what you need to do.鈥 And that鈥檚 what we worked on all offseason.鈥
The goals were tangible.
Granillo had to get his change-up in the zone for a strike so it could not be dismissed. He needed to be comfortable and confident throwing the slider in any count for a strike or for a chase pitch out of the zone. His fastball plays up in the zone at 94 mph or 95 mph, and to keep hitters off it, he needed the slider to operate at different levels, too. The work Granillo did to pull all of those pitches into the zone has paid off with only eight walks this season and one of the lowest WHIPs (walks and hits per inning pitched) in the minors, at 0.84. Oh, and a promotion.
Granillo made a series of calls, contacting his agent finally on the way to the airport. And the texts started flowing after the official move. For every one he replied to 鈥渢hree more come in,鈥 he said. And all of that is before the next call he鈥檚 set to receive, to one that really signals his arrival in the majors.
With no area code necessary, it comes on the bullpen phone.
鈥淗opefully I can provide it any way possible whether it鈥檚 up 10, down 10, up one, down 1,鈥 Granillo said. 鈥(Runners on) second and third, clean inning, dirty inning 鈥 it doesn鈥檛 matter. I feel like I can go in there and get the job done.鈥
Cardinals second baseman Brendan Donovan hits a single during a game against the Blue Jays on Monday, June 9, 2025, at Busch Stadium.
Donovan and Walker updates
Brendan Donovan did some light workouts, running and played catch Thursday afternoon at American Family Field, but the team planned to treat the series opener as an off-day for the infielder who is dealing with a sprain in his left big toe. The Cardinals plan to delay any decision about the injured list until at least Friday, but they do not expect to plan the entire series in Milwaukee shorthanded by Donovan鈥檚 sore foot.
鈥淗e came in and felt a lot better,鈥 Marmol said.
Outfielder Jordan Walker officially began his rehab assignment Thursday night with Class AAA Memphis, batting second and starting in right field. He joined the Redbirds in Gwinnett, Georgia, not too far from where he grew up. A key test for Walker will be how he recovers day to day, and if his wrist soreness does not resurface his return could be swift.
