Orioles bullpen revolving door continues with sneaky trade for Cardinals' lefty

The Baltimore Orioles have used 10 relievers since the 2026 season got underway, and it looks as if they're ready to add another to the list. The Orioles finalized a deal with the St. Louis Cardinals to acquire left-hander reliever Nick Raquet in exchange for infield prospect Brayden Smith.

Raquet is techincally a rookie, but he's also 30 years old. Originally drafted by the Washington Nationals in 2017 out of William & Mary, Raquet took the long and winding road to get to the big leagues.

Raquet began his professional career in 2017 and spent three seasons in the Nats' farm system. But because of the cancellation of the minor-league season in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, he quit baseball and returned to college to finish his degree. He returned to the independent leagues in 2023 and signed a minor-league deal with St. Louis in 2024.

Raquet made his big league debut last September, but was optioned to Triple-A to begin the 2026 season. After promoting Jared Shuster to the 40-man roster, the Cardinals needed to clear a spot and designated Raquet for assignment. If he's not immediately promoted to the Orioles active roster, will likely report to Triple-A Norfolk.

Orioles add an extra reliever amid early-season bullpen struggles

The bullpen was never expected to be the strength of this year's Orioles club, but it's doubtful that even the most pessimistic Baltimore fan expected the relief corp to be this bad. Every reliever, with the exception of Rico Garcia, has an ERA north of 3.00. The bullpen's biggest offseason addition, Ryan Helsley, is 3-for-3 in save opportunities this season, but he's been rather erratic.

The Orioles have now numerous movable pieces in the bullpen — Raquet has minor-league options remaining as well — so it wouldn't be surprising to see Baltimore continue to shuttle relievers back and forth between Triple-A and the big leagues this season. But while the backend of the bullpen seems secure the duo of Helsely and Garcia, the rest of the relief corps is a work in progress. Perhaps Raquet can help bring some stability.

In order to finalize the deal, Baltimore shipped Smith to the Cardinals organization The 22-year-old was a late-round draft pick last season and had begun the year at High-A Frederick. Injured pitcher Zach Eflin was transferred to the 60-day IL to make room for Raquet on the Orioles 40-man roster.