5 decisions the Cardinals would make right now if they were serious about a reset

#3 - Give the young arms as many starts as they can handle

So here's the continuation of the Fedde point. Fedde should be moved, full stop, because he will get the Cardinals a real return, and it would free up opportunities for other young arms in their system.

Trading Steven Matz or cutting bait with Miles Mikolas is not as pressing to me. I think you could get something for Matz, but not enough to force the issue. Mikolas is not going to net the Cardinals anything of value, so they don't have to cut bait now.

If the Cardinals were to trade Fedde now, then they'd project to have a rotation of Sonny Gray, Andre Pallante, Miles Mikolas, Michael McGreevy, and Steven Matz. If any of those guys went down with an injury, one of Quinn Mathews, Matthew Liberatore, Zack Thompson, Sem Robberse, Gordon Graceffo, Roddery Munoz, or Drew Rom can fill in for them. At some point in 2025, Tink Hence, Cooper Hjerpe, Tekoah Roby, or other young arms could become serious contenders as well. I don't see a shortage of options, do you?

Even if all of those guys aren't ready or multiple injuries happen and their depth is zapped, they can always claim someone off of waivers or sign a veteran-free agent. I know they'd like to win next year, but if they have that many rotation injuries, it probably was not going to be a good year anyway.

But you know what could result in a "good year" on the field but a "bad year" for their stated goals? If Mikolas, Matz, and Fedde are able to make plenty of starts in 2025, blocking young arms from breaking into the rotation and showing what they have to offer.

The Cardinals have *mostly* freed up opportunities for young talent on the position player side of things (more on that in a bit), but I still do not see how they can say they've done that with the rotation. Sure, the bullpen will present opportunities, but the Cardinals need to let young guys start.

They lost my trust last year that they'd make hard choices in order to give young starters a shot. Yes, they went with Pallante over Matz in the rotation, but that was after an injury and Pallante shoving for an entire summer. When Michael McGreevy blew people's socks off in a spot start on July 31st, it took until September 18th for the Cardinals to get him another opportunity in St. Louis. 49 days between opportunities. I'm not even saying he should have started again right away, but seriously, the Cardinals seemed dead in the water in late August and especially in early September. There is no reason why McGreevy could not have taken Mikolas, Gibson, or Lynn's spot in the rotation.

Maybe the Cardinals prove me wrong, but I have a strange feeling they'll continue to ride with Mikolas throughout the year if he's healthy and not horrible on the mound. Matz I know they aren't afraid to pull the plug on, but like I stated earlier, there are 7-10 young arms that may be worthy of some starts this year. If they go into the season with Fedde, Matz, and Mikolas in the rotation, it's hard to believe there'll be enough opportunity to go around.

Or maybe a better way to say that is banking on injury to create that is not a true runway. Don't block these young arms!