On October 25, 1976, Riccelli was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for a player to be named later. On June 8, 1978, the Cardinals sent Riccelli to Houston for Bob Coluccio. Riccelli would appear in two games for the Astros that year, pitching three scoreless innings. During a start in 1979, Riccelli suffered an injury which required him to undergo Tommy John surgery. He returned to baseball with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Toronto Blue Jays organizations in 1980 and 1981 respectively but never returned to the Major Leagues.
