Cardinals hire former Seattle Mariners' minor league pitching coordinator

The St. Louis Cardinals have made another addition to their coaching staff, something they've made a priority this offseason.

Matt Pierpont, a former minor league pitching coordinator for the Seattle Mariners, has joined the Cardinals to be their Director of Pitching. In his post on Twitter/X, Pierpont expressed appreciation for his time in Seattle while also saying he is "excited for the next chapter with the Cardinals."

Pierpont, 33, was a former minor league pitcher in Seattle's system. He was drafted out of Winthrop in the 26th round of the 2013 draft by the Colorado Rockies. He finished his minor league career with a 28-15 record and a 2.83 ERA.

2024 was Pierpont's second season as Seattle's minor league pitching coordinator and his fourth season with the organization. He was able to work with pitchers like Bryce Miller, Bryan Woo, Emerson Hancock, and other top pitchers in Seattle, an organization that boasts one of baseball's best pitching staffs.

Seattle's rotation had the league's best ERA (3.38) in 2024, the lowest walk ratio (1.77 BB/9), and the third-best FIP (3.64) in the league last year. Meanwhile, the Cardinals starting rotation was stuck in the middle of the pack for many key stats related to starting pitching.

The Cardinals have struggled to produce a legitimate top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher since Jack Flaherty in 2019, and they've had to supplement their rotation with pricey free agents these past few years. With major pitching prospects like Tink Hence, Quinn Mathews, Tekoah Roby, and Cooper Hjerpe in the pipeline, some guidance for these young players would be beneficial.

The Cardinals have already added Rob Cerfolio of the Cleveland Guardians, another organization that excels at player development, this offseason to their front office. Hiring Pierpont, a coach from another organization that is a hotbed for high-level prospects, should bode well for the Cardinals as they enter this reset period that is focused on playing young players.

Chaim Bloom is forming his staff, and it's already flush with intelligent, young, outside minds and voices. This is great news for an organization that has been stale in the front office for a few years now.