7 players facing their last stand with the Cardinals heading out of All-Star break

Steven Matz

For the first three years of his contract, Steven Matz has been a headache for Cardinals fans. When he was right, he was a dynamic starter for the team, often performing as one of their top rotation options and having a bit more swing-and-miss in his arsenal compared to other arms the Cardinals had. But more often than not, Matz was either out with an injury or blowing up on the mound, making that four-year, $44 million deal feel like a massive failure.

This offseason, the Cardinals decided to hold onto Matz, opting to see how spring training went for all parties involved. If the Cardinals had injuries to their other rotation arms, Matz was there to step in. If not, they could use him out of the bullpen as much as they needed to.

The latter has occurred, and Matz has stepped into a big role with the Cardinals' bullpen. He's served as a high-leverage left-handed option late in games, he's covered multiple innings when starters don't go deep into games, and he's even started two games when the Cardinals needed a six-man rotation earlier in the season.

Matz has performed well in all of those roles, posting a 3.35 ERA and 2.93 FIP in his 51 innings of work. Without Matz this year, the Cardinals would have run into a lot of issues, so they face a really tough choice with him over the next few weeks.

Matz is drawing interest from teams around the league as both a starter and a reliever. The Cardinals could use his first-half performance to try and salvage as much value as they possibly can, especially in a trade market that is not going to have many starters or relievers available. They could hold onto Matz as a bullpen option to help them compete down the stretch as rotation depth if needed, or they could even move him into the rotation if they get really bold and part with both Fedde and Mikolas.

How the club decided to handle Matz will be one of the prime examples of how they view toeing the line at this deadline. Trading him helps their future, while holding him helps their present. Which takes priority?