St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Packy Naughton, who had a very strong spring training, will undergo elbow surgery in June. Derick Goold reports.
Naughton, 30, was selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the ninth round of the 2017 MLB draft. His 2022 season consisted of a 4.78 ERA in 32 big league innings for the Cardinals‘ big club. After a somewhat successful season, Naughton’s career was derailed by injuries.
In his short career, the left-hander has commanded an above-average four-seamer that averages around 94 mph and a signature slider that racks up whiffs. His deceptiveness plays a key role in getting betters out, as well as his knack for inducing groundballs.
MLB World Reacts to Naughton’s Injury
Here’s what people are saying about Naughton getting surgery:
FantasyPros: “Packy Naughton (elbow) to undergo surgery next week fantasypros.com/mlb/news/58588 via @Koslow_ari #ForTheLou.”
101 ESPN St. Louis: “#STLCards lefty Packy Naughton will undergo season-ending surgery on June 26th, per Oli Marmol.”
Cardinals Stats and Facts: “Packy Naughton career arc: 2022: 32 IP, 4.78 ERA, 3.14 FIP in St. Louis. 2023: 5 IP, 0.00 ERA, missed the rest of the year with flexor tendon surgery in his elbow. 2024: 7 rehab outings in Memphis with a 2.53 ERA. Re-tore his flexor tendon and tore his UCL. Tommy John surgery. 2025: Missed season due to Tommy John recovery. 2026: 2 scoreless innings pitched in Spring Training. Never give up, folks.”
Redbird Farmhands: “I mean we knew it was coming, but man it hurts. Feel awful for Packy.”
@HoopzMizzou: “He also looked really good in the two games before the injury.”
The Cardinals Bullpen Could’ve Used Naughton
St. Louis’ bullpen has been depleted all season. Injuries haven’t been as much of an issue as plain regression.
Cardinal reliever Matt Svanson went from weapon to eye-sore in a camera flash. His electric 2025 amounted to a 1.94 ERA in 60.1 innings while striking out 10.1 batters per nine innings. This season, Swanson’s sinker isn’t dancing, and his sweeper stopped twirling. As of May 14th, the Redbird reliever has an ERA of 9.15 in 20.2 innings.
Other struggling Cardinals’ arms in the pen include offseason addition Ryne Stanek (6.00 ERA) and Justin Bruihl (5.40 ERA).
Even the relievers who are finding success feel shaky at best.
Although JoJo Romero and Gordon Graceffo’s numbers are shiny, regression feels imminent for the Cardinal duo.
Romero has surrendered an average exit velocity of 92.1 mph. That’s good for the fourth percentile in all of MLB. Simply put: not good enough.
Graceffo, who’s slotted into a bulk-innings role and found success, is missing one key letter: K. The young right-hander is striking out a measly 11.6% of hitters. If he can’t find a way to induce more strike-three, bats are due to find the baseball.
With so many questions surrounding the St. Louis bullpen, the Naughton loss is bigger than most would think. After a great spring, he was supposed to provide key depth for an inexperienced group in the Redbird pen. Without him, the Cardinals will have to find new depth, either internally or via the trade market.
Cardinals’ Spring Standout Suffers Brutal Injury Setback