6 players the Cardinals are holding back this year

Steven Matz

Coming into the 2025 season, I was a strong supporter of moving Steven Matz to the rotation to give the Cardinals a left-handed starting option, as it was assumed that Matthew Liberatore would assume his bullpen role he performed well in last season. After a nice spring, Matz was announced to begin the year as a long reliever with opportunities to move to the rotation as a sixth starter when the team had a long stretch of games without an off day. Matz has experienced plenty of injury issues since signing his deal with the Cardinals, and I felt that the jockeying between bullpen and rotation could cause more problems since he would be unable to get into a consistent rhythm.

So far, Matz has been able to not only stay healthy, but provide great results no matter his role. He has only received one start this year and was on a pitch count but still managed to deliver five innings of one-run ball, including five strikeouts and zero walks and tallied a win. In his relief role, Matz has thrown 14.1 innings, tallying a 1.88 ERA, a save, and a win while only walking three batters. He has maintained his 94 mph sinker while keeping an effective changeup and curveball. More encouraging is that Matz has held lefties and righties to similar hitting stats, only giving up three total extra-base hits, all doubles, and a .200 batting average.

I am adding Matz to this list because I think the Cardinals need to choose one role for him and ride with it. With Liberatore moving to the rotation, Matz is effectively filling that void, jumping back and forth from relief outings to starting appearances, but unlike Liberatore, it appears the team actually has a concrete schedule for when Matz will be used in each role. The 33-year-old is in the final year of his four-year deal, and if the Cardinals do not plan on re-signing him at the end of the year, they should look to get the most out of him on the mound to increase their return on the trade market.

The Cardinals do not have an off day until May 8, so it is likely that Matz will get another opportunity to start in the coming week after most recently throwing 2.2 innings in relief of Andre Pallante a few days ago. My best guess would be that they choose to keep everyone on normal rest for the Brewers series and will give Matz his next starting chance when they head to Cincinnati for a three-game set.

The trade deadline is still months away, and with Matz's injury history, opposing teams may wait until the final hour to strike a deal with the Cardinals to see if he can maintain his health and positive results. Throughout his career, Matz has had a 4.33 ERA as a starter with an 8.57 K/9 rate. His last full-time run in the rotation was in 2021 as a member of the Blue Jays, when he made 29 starts and notched 14 wins. His first taste of the bullpen came with the Cardinals after he experienced multiple injuries over the length of his contract and they were attempting to get him on the mound any way possible to take advantage of his quality stuff. In total, Matz only has 53.2 innings out of the bullpen and has a 2.68 ERA and a .223 opponent batting average but only a 7.2 K/9 rate.

I believe that Matz has more value out of the rotation for both the Cardinals and for the rest of the league. He has shown improved command this year and has been effective in his longer appearances. Long relievers, while beneficial, do not maintain their value because of the inconsistency of the role and those innings usually coming in mop-up or piggyback opportunities. Committing to a full-time six-man rotation would allow this to happen but also put additional strain on an already weak and thin bullpen. Without an injury, I do not think any clarity or established long-term role will happen for Matz and the Cardinals will have to continue to piece his innings together based on schedule and matchups.