Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals Face Problematic Rotation Logjam As Front Office Searches For Solutions

St. Louis is approaching this season with an open mind
Nate Hagerty|
Sep 2, 2024; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Andre Pallante (53) pitches in the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images
Sep 2, 2024; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Andre Pallante (53) pitches in the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

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St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals significantly improved their rotation last offseason after finishing with a 71-91 record in 2023 but this year's direction for the pitching staff isn't so clear.

After declining right-handed pitchers Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson's 2025 club options earlier this winter, it doesn't appear that the Cardinals will look to add another starter before Opening Day.

With St. Louis embarking on an organizational reset, this upcoming season's rotation will look different and there's no telling how things will pan out.

"For a team advertising a reset and opportunities for young pitchers, the Cardinals entered the winter with five incumbent starting pitchers and evidently not much desire to forcibly open up spots on the roster," Belleville News-Democrat's Jeff Jones wrote Friday. "To make matters more complicated, four of the five – Erick Fedde, Sonny Gray, Steven Matz and Miles Mikolas – will start the season at a minimum of age 32. The fifth, Andre Pallante, could very well double his career total of 30 starts in 2025."

The Cardinals want to open room for youngsters such as Michael McGreevy, Quinn Matthews, Zack Thompson, Gordon Graceffo and Matthew Liberatore to gain big-league experience in 2025.

"Despite that incumbency, manager Oli Marmol addressed the pending pitching opportunities with a sense of fatalistic realism," Jones continued. “'It’s always hard to say, because by the time you get to spring and you’re a week in, health always pops up,' Marmol said Monday on the last day of the team’s annual Winter Warm-Up. 'If we stay healthy, then we have some tough decisions to make. But if not, we have some guys that can come in after and do a nice job that we’re looking forward to seeing.'"

Considering the logjam of starters the Cardinals have in their top five rotation spots, it could be challenging for rising stars such as Matthews or Graceffo to earn playing time in 2025 with St. Louis.

How will the Cardinals delegate playing time for young pitchers this upcoming season if they fail to clear room in the rotation? Perhaps the plan is to wait for several hurlers to get injured before turning to younger talent, which would be a disappointing approach from the franchise.

More MLB: Cardinals Appear Thrice In Baseball America's Latest Top 100 Prospects List

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Nate Hagerty
NATE HAGERTY

Nate Hagerty joined “Inside The Cardinals” as a content creator to spread knowledge about his favorite childhood team. A hometown native of Boston, Hagerty chose at an early age of six years old to follow the St. Louis Cardinals. The miraculous season of 04’ for the Red Sox did not deter Hagerty from rooting against his hometown team, nor did it in 2013 against the Red Birds. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Inside The Cardinals, please reach out to Scott Neville: nevilles@merrimack.edu 

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