Cardinals' Plan for Orioles Finale, Quinn Mathews, Kyle Leahy

The St. Louis Cardinals' starting rotation has been thin throughout the week.

Jun 13, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; St. Louis Cardinals Oliver Marmol leaves after arguing with home plate umpire Adam Beck over a ABS review on a pitch to Minnesota Twins shortstop Austin Martin (not pictured) in the eighth inning at Target Field. Beck ejected Marmol on the argument. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

If you haven't noticed already, the St. Louis Cardinals are thin in the starting rotation.

That's a bit of sarcasm. It has been the most talked-about topic around the team over the last week or so with Andre Pallante and Hunter Dobbins on the Injured List. There has been a lot of chatter about who would get the start on Thursday for the club. That likely would've been Dobbins' next turn in the rotation if he didn't get hurt.

All week, the Cardinals' starter for Thursday has been listed as "TBD." Michael McGreevy is scheduled to get the start on Wednesday night, and then things have been up in the air. Quinn Mathews is up in the majors and if he were to start on Thursday, it would've been the fifth day for him after making his last start on Aug. 22. That isn't going to be the case, though. Mathews is getting the ball on Friday against the Pittsburgh Pirates with Kyle Leahy to follow behind him on Saturday. On Wednesday, Cardinals manager Oli Marmol shared that St. Louis will be using Thursday as a bullpen day and that the exact starter will depend on how the game shakes out on Wednesday night, as shared on X by Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat.

It's Going To Be A Bullpen Day

Aug 17, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; St. Louis Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol (37) talks with first base umpire Edwin Moscoso (32) after a call in the tenth inning in the game against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

"Cardinals will indeed roll a bullpen game tomorrow with Mathews Friday, Leahy Saturday, Marmol said. Order of deployment of the relievers will depend on today," Jones wrote.

One thing that is a bit shocking in modern baseball is the fact that the Cardinals have actually only used eight starters this season: Matthew Liberatore (26 starts), Michael McGreevy (25 starts), Kyle Leahy (25 starts), Andre Pallante (24 starts), Dustin May (21 starts), Hunter Dobbins (8 starts), Quinn Mathews (3 starts), and Matt Svanson (1 start). Svanson has been used as an opener this season, but is down in the minors right now, so he won't be an option, barring a promotion.

If available, Peter Strzelecki would be a good option as he was used as an opener once earlier in the season in the Milwaukee Brewers' system. Ryne Stanek is someone with 56 big league starts under his belt, although he hasn't made one since 2019. Caleb Ferguson has 15 starts under his belt and made one earlier in the season for the Cincinnati Reds.

At the end of the day, what really matters is innings, not who starts on Thursday. Hopefully McGreevy can give them some length on Wednesday because it's going to be a long day for the bullpen on Thursday.