5 small moves the Cardinals made that are leading to their turnaround in 2025

The St. Louis Cardinals have won nine(!!!) games in a row and are coming off one of their best wins of the season over one of the best teams in baseball, the Philadelphia Phillies. Outside of their 17-game win streak back in 2021, this nine-game win streak is the club's longest since 2004.

No one is comparing the 2025 team to that 2004 juggernaut, but it is hard not to be excited about their run of form as of late. After two consecutive seasons where the Cardinals started around 10 games below .500 by mid-May, the Cardinals are four games above .500 and one game back of the National League Central lead.

All offseason, Cardinals fans (rightfully) lamented the club's frozen winter, where they did not make a single addition to their Major League roster until almost the end of spring training. Even so, the Cardinals have made moves (or changes) to their roster and coaching staff, and those are paying off more than anyone could have ever imagined.

Here are 5 small moves the Cardinals made that are now leading to their turnaround in 2025.

#1 - Giving Matthew Liberatore a rotation spot

Rather than move on from veteran starters like Erick Fedde, Miles Mikolas, or Steven Matz during the offseason, the Cardinals elected to run it back with those guys, believing they needed the depth if they were going to have a chance at contending.

Most of us assumed that would mean Matz was in their Opening Day rotation, or perhaps they'd allow Michael McGreevy to win a spot over him. I don't think many of us expected them to actually let Matthew Liberatore have a chance at starting this year, but boy, has it worked out.

Liberatore was incredible during spring training, posting a 1.62 ERA in 16.2 innings of work. While the Cardinals mostly spoke about the need to create "runway" for Jordan Walker and Nolan Gorman this past offseason, it appears they realized that Liberatore was someone who would benefit from that kind of support from them.

Liberatore was named the fifth starter out of camp, and rather than bailing on him after a shaky first two starts, the club continued to roll with their 25-year-old lefty, and Liberatore has done nothing but impress. Through his first eight starts, Liberatore has a 3.11 ERA with 42 strikeouts in 46.1 innings of work with a 1.01 WHIP. Two of those eight starts game against the daunting Phillies lineup, where he allowed just two runs over 11.1 innings of work, as well as a 6.2 inning start where he surrendered just two runs to the Mets. Sprinkle in two excellent starts against division foes in the Brewers and Pirates, and you have quite the start to a season here.

I'm not banking on Liberatore continuing to pitch this well all season long, but even the emergence of him being a legit option for their rotation long term is a massive development. But right now, he truly is pitching like a front-line option, and if that sustains throughout the rest of 2025, their rotation looks a whole lot stronger than we could have imagined it would.