Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals 24-Year-Old Dazzles In Debut With Roster Spot On Line

The Cardinals have some tough decisions to make...
Patrick McAvoy|
Sep 11, 2023; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; A detailed view of the 9/11 ribbon on a St. Louis Cardinals hat in the dugout before the game against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images
Sep 11, 2023; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; A detailed view of the 9/11 ribbon on a St. Louis Cardinals hat in the dugout before the game against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

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St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals aren't going to have as many young guys at the big league level as they likely hoped early in the offseason.

The Cardinals said they wanted to "reset" the organization but there weren't many changes made. This is largely thanks to the fact that some of the team's veterans like Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras, Nolan Arenado, and Miles Mikolas all have no-trade clauses. Steven Matz and Erick Fedde were in trade rumors as well but still are with the team as well.

Because the Cardinals have kept so many veterans -- at least to this point in Spring Training -- there will be fewer spots to go around for some of the team's young guys. One guy who likely is going to have to compete for a role with the team is young starter Quinn Mathews.

There aren't many rotation spots to go around. Unless a move is made, the team currently has Gray, Fedde, Mikolas, and Matz as easy options. Matz certainly could move to the bullpen but that hasn't happened at this time. St. Louis also has Andre Pallante, Matthews, and Michael McGreevy as potential rotation options at this point.

It's going to be interesting to see the decisions that St. Louis ultimately lands on, but Matthews did everything possible in his spring debut on Tuesday for the team to consider him. Matthews started for St. Louis on Tuesday and pitched two innings against the Toronto Blue Jays and allowed just two hits and one walk while striking out three batters and allowing no runs. What makes his outing even more impressive is the fact that he faced All-Stars like Bo Bichette, Andrés Giménez, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and had no issues.

He's going to be arguably the most interesting player to watch for the Cardinals this spring.

More MLB: Will Cardinals Trade Nolan Arenado? Insider Shares Latest News

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Patrick McAvoy
PATRICK MCAVOY

Patrick McAvoy's experiences include local and national sports coverage at the New England Sports Network with a focus on baseball and basketball. Outside of journalism, Patrick also is pursuing an MBA at Brandeis University. After quickly rising as one of the most productive writers on the site, he expanded his reach to write for Baseball Essential, a national baseball site in Sports Illustrated Media Group. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Inside The Cardinals, please reach out to Scott Neville: nevilles@merrimack.edu

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