3 routes the Cardinals can take to save their rotation from truly imploding

Route #3: Cross their fingers and hope luck is on their side

Oh boy, this would cause the majority of us to tear our hair out. While sure, it could work, the Cardinals sticking to their guns and continuing to roll with both Mikolas and Fedde would be doubling down on a poor process and hoping that they magically get back to the fool's gold results they had earlier in the year.

From April 12th through May 23rd, Mikolas made eight starts, posting a 2.08 ERA, allowing a .197/.267/.312 slash line and a 3.78 FIP. The stat line was obviously great, but it was only a matter of time before regression came in a real way. The same was true of Fedde. All the way through June 8th, his first 13 starts of the year, he posted a 3.54 ERA, dancing his way through danger in a variety of starts and only allowing the game to unravel on him a few times.

If they were able to defy the odds before, I guess they can do it again? So sure, the Cardinals can keep running them out there, and hey, maybe it works out for them!

In all likelihood, though, it won't work out that way, and the Cardinals just delay ripping the band-aid off for so long that the club suffers greatly for it.

I know I don't need to convince any of you that this is a bad idea, but it really is worth highlighting how tough of an outlook this could be. Just focusing in on the rotation - we all know that Gray, Liberatore, and Pallante aren't the most reliable trio themselves. Add in Mikolas and Fedde's frequent blow-ups, and the Cardinals may be in for a really rough second half.

This also puts even greater stress on the Cardinals' lineup and bullpen. If their rotation is going to be all smoke and mirrors, well, then they need to put up a lot of runs on a consistent basis, and they need their bullpen to be nails when they do have leads. Yes, they want those things to happen anyway, but it's hard to ask the offense and the bullpen to be on it's "A" game every time out.

Realistically, the Cardinals are not likely to make any decisions on their rotation until the end of the month. That may be too late for them. The club needs to have a strong month to convince ownership that it is worth investing in them at the deadline and to remain in a strong position in the standings.

We'll see how things play out between now and the deadline. The Cardinals need to consider drastic measures in order to repair their rotation, and where they land the plane could determine where their season goes.