Cardinals Found Something Important Not Worth Messing Up

Should the Cardinals make a change?

Sep 5, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; A detailed view of the hat and glove of St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Nolan Gorman (not pictured) before a game against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals had a lot of questions about the starting rotation heading into the 2025 Major League Baseball season.

St. Louis seemed to have a surplus of starters heading into the season. The Cardinals didn't trade anyone away this past offseason and entered Spring Training with Sonny Gray, Erick Fedde, Miles Mikolas, Steven Matz, Andre Pallante, Matthew Liberatore, and Michael McGreevy in the mix.

The Cardinals opted to roll with Gray, Fedde, Mikolas, Pallante, and Liberatore with McGreevy in the minors and Matz in the bullpen. St. Louis said it was going to turn to a six-man rotation in April with Matz moving back to the rotation.

While this is the case, they may have found something with Matz in the bullpen. The Cardinals have been fortunate to have him there. He has appeared in five games so far and has a 2.31 ERA and 6-to-2 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 11 2/3 innings pitched.

He bounced between the rotation and bullpen last year when he was healthy and showed some signs of success out of the bullpen. This year, that success has carried over and he's been arguably the team's second-best reliever. Phil Maton clearly has been the best with a 0.00 ERA in nine outings. Kyle Leahy has a 1.04 ERA in seven appearances and there's an argument that he's been the second-best.

The Cardinals have found something that clearly has worked so far. Why change it?

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