One of the biggest questions surrounding the St. Louis Cardinals’ key acquisition from the Brendan Donovan trade was whether the uniquely talented Jurrangelo Cijntje would continue on his path as a switch-pitcher following the deal.
Cijntje had worked his way into a first-round talent pitching with both arms at Mississippi State, thriving on the mound in collegiate baseball’s most rugged conference environment. But the story of his first full professional season in the Seattle organization revealed a particular proclivity toward success as a right-handed hurler, leading the Mariners to consider altering Cijntje’s path moving forward.
In the days leading up to the trade with the Cardinals, it had been reported by a Seattle writer that the Mariners planned to transition Cijntje to strictly a right-handed pitcher when it came to live game action in 2026.
Though Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom had been careful to avoid any sweeping proclamations about the prospect’s status prior to getting a chance to speak with him at big-league camp in Jupiter, Oli Marmol’s comments from Saturday indicate that the Cardinals are planning to handle Cijntje’s switch-pitching future in a similar manner to what Seattle was preparing to do.
“What we’ve committed to for big-league camp is that he will throw from the right side when he’s in games or lives,” Marmol said. “And then he will continue to work from both sides otherwise.”
So while this isn’t necessarily a formal end to Cijntje’s switch-pitching in its entirety, there does seem to be a directive from the Cardinals that the 22-year-old will focus predominantly on his right-handed efforts when it comes to legitimate competitive settings in camp and during the upcoming season.
This revelation should do little to diminish the excitement surrounding the player, however, as the Cardinals were enamored with Cijntje’s right-handed potential after getting a glimpse of his capabilities during a bullpen session over the weekend.
“It’s pretty electric stuff. That was fun to watch,” Marmol said. “You could tell, even listening to the players behind (the fence, watching), there’s excitement there.”
St. Louis is excited about the raw power behind Cijntje’s right arm as Marmol sees plenty of room for him to develop.
“This is a guy that we obviously know what we’re getting—it’s powerful stuff out of the right side,” Marmol said. “And he’s got the demeanor and overall aptitude to make some of the adjustments that I think will even get him to a higher ceiling with some the breaking balls.”
Switch-pitcher or not, the Cardinals are eager to watch the development of their newest pitching prospect.