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St. Louis Cardinals: Steven Matz Injury May End Juan Soto Pursuit

By Josh Jacobs |
CINCINNATI, OH - JULY 23: Steven Matz #32 of the St. Louis Cardinals dives for the ball as Joey Votto #19 of the Cincinnati Reds runs to first base in the bottom of the sixth inning at Great American Ball Park on July 23, 2022 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Lauren Bacho/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH - JULY 23: Steven Matz #32 of the St. Louis Cardinals dives for the ball as Joey Votto #19 of the Cincinnati Reds runs to first base in the bottom of the sixth inning at Great American Ball Park on July 23, 2022 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Lauren Bacho/Getty Images)
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The Cardinals lost Steven Matz to a knee injury in his first start returning from the IL, and it may have cost them their shot at Juan Soto.

The St. Louis Cardinals suffered a huge loss on Saturday as starter Steven Matz suffered an MCL injury during his masterful start against the Cincinnati Reds. 

This loss further compounds their need for starting pitching, as Matz will miss significant time, joining starters Jack Flaherty and Dakota Hudson on the injured list. For a team that desperately needed starting pitching, this injury furthers that desperation.

While the Cardinals pursuit for pitching has been known for months now, recent days have seen buzz around the club making a play for the biggest star on the market: Juan Soto.

Soto, the 23 year old superstar on the Washington Nationals, will cost any team who is looking to acquire his services for the next 2 and 1/2 years a historic prospect package, already making St. Louis’ interest something that confused those who follow closely how the team operates.

While St. Louis has the pieces necessary to pull off a deal and maintain a healthy farm system while also not harming their big league club, any move for Soto would likely take them out of the market for the arms necessary for the club to make a run.

Before the Matz injury, an argument could be made that adding Soto and relying on better health in the second half was a viable play for the club, but now one has to wonder if that can even be considered anymore.

Leading insiders continue to put St. Louis in the conversation for Soto, so there is no reason to believe they are out of the mix yet. But here are the reasons Cardinals fans should lower their expectations of that kind of blockbuster deal.

John Mozeliak looks on from the stands during a game against the Cincinnati Reds at Busch Stadium on July 28, 2015 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)
John Mozeliak looks on from the stands during a game against the Cincinnati Reds at Busch Stadium on July 28, 2015 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) /

The Cardinals are looking to add bigger arms at this deadline

At the 2021 deadline, the Cardinals went out and added two veteran left handed arms in Jon Lester and J.A. Happ to the club, mainly looking to add innings to a club that looked out of contention. This time around, President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak is looking to add bigger names.

While last years acquisitions cost the club John Gant and Lane Thomas, the names they are looking at this time around, like Noah Syndergaard, will cost far more than that. The Cardinals are willing to pay that price, but such a trade will complicate how much they are willing to part with for Soto.

If the Cardinals go out and add one of these higher level arms, is it realistic to believe they would also part with the young talent necessary to add Juan Soto? The club can handle the prospect hit that a Soto trade would take, but pairing that with losing more players for a starting pitcher would use up most of the club’s assets.

Again, it’s not out of the question (more on that later), but it does seem to become a tougher sell for a club that prides itself on having a strong pipeline of prospects feeding their big league club.

WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 15: Patrick Corbin #46 of the Washington Nationals pitches during a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves at Nationals Park on July 15, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 15: Patrick Corbin #46 of the Washington Nationals pitches during a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves at Nationals Park on July 15, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

Patrick Corbin could help hold the club over

Although the club’s plans were to acquire a higher level arm, with a generational talent on the market, it makes sense to reconsider those plans.

If St. Louis is still interested in adding Soto, there is three ways they could patch together their rotation needs down the stretch.

The first is take back Patrick Corbin’s contract in the trade for Soto. Corbin has fallen from his status as one of the better pitchers in the game this year, sporting a 6.02 ERA in 20 starts for the Nationals. His contract is perhaps the worst in all of baseball, and is rumored to be attached to Soto in any trade.

The club can hope that their elite defense and pitching for a contender has a similar impact on Corbin as it did Lester and Happ. If so, Corbin could at least give them innings for a month or so while other arms regain health.

The second option would be acquiring another low level arm like Lester or Happ along with Soto at the deadline. If they add the superstar outfielder, lowering their sights for that additional starter makes a lot of sense.

The third option would be take back Corbin’s contract and acquire one more arm, likely that smaller name, to get by down the stretch. I find it very unlikely the Cardinals would part with most of their top prospects to bring in only two names at the deadline, but Soto, Corbin, and a low level arm could make sense.

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