John Mozeliak's stance on trading Cardinals rotation pieces is mind-boggling

While John Mozeliak continues to see zero traction from his priority number one, two, and three of trading Nolan Arenado, he has also dug his heels in when it comes to his desire to hold onto the St. Louis Cardinals' veteran starting pitchers.

During his media availability on Saturday at Cardinals' Winter Warm-Up, Mozeliak doubled down on the Cardinals' desire to hold onto veteran pitchers in their rotation, stating the need to have more than just five starters going into a season and opportunity for young arms likely coming in the form of injuries to their current five-man rotation. You can check out his full media availability on the Dealin' the Cards channel, linked here and below.

Young arms will likely have to wait for an injury to the Cardinals' rotation to find starts

While Mozeliak mentioned that Michael McGreevy specifically would be fighting for a rotation spot in camp, he hinted at the lack of availability from an arm like Steven Matz being the ultimate path for young arms, outside of Andre Pallante, to crack the rotation.

Even when asked about the potential of teams who missed out on Roki Sasaki calling about the Cardinals' pitching depth, Mozeliak stated they'd likely turn down such interest. It had been reported earlier this offseason that they were at least open to offers on Steven Matz and Erick Fedde, but it sounds rather unlikely that they end up moving either of them or other veterans like Sonny Gray and Miles Mikolas.

I get what Mozeliak's point that you need starting pitching depth to cover a full season. It's nearly impossible to make it through 162 games with the same five man rotation, and so having plenty of options to go to when injuries happen is essential for patiching together a competitive rotation all year long.

Here is my issue though - I know the club is not tanking in 2025, nor should they, but isn't the point of this "reset" to highlight the young talent and give them as much opportunity as possible? It seems fairly difficult to do that on the pitching side when they've opened exactly zero rotation spots from last year's group.

Sure, Andre Pallante is now in the mix, but he already cemented himself last year. Between him, Gray, Mikolas, Matz, and Fedde, the rotation is full, and I can name quite a few young men who are hoping to break into that rotation.

Starting with McGreevy, the former first-round pick was excellent in his small sample sizes with St. Louis last year. Frankly, it's a shame he did not get more opportunities last year down the stretch to try and earn that rotation spot already. I understand that he's going to be given the opportunity in camp to win a job, but the only starter who could realistically lose their spot in camp, outside of injury, is Matz.

What about Quinn Mathews? There's no need to rush him, but if the Minor League Pitcher of the Year looks ready to go when camp breaks, wouldn't it make more sense for him to be in the big league rotation instead of putting mileage on his arm against minor league hitters? If he's not ready, then there is no issue. But if Mathews looks like he can be a difference-maker in St. Louis, there should be nothing blocking his path.

How about Tink Hence? One of the top 50 prospects in baseball, the right-hander is knocking on the door of a big league debut as well, and while it would take an excellent camp to even sniff the MLB rotation based on his durability issues and lack of Triple-A experience, it is very likely that he's in need of opportunities by midseason.

Oh, and did you know that Matthew Liberatore is stretching out again as a starter? There's a good chance he lands back in the bullpen, but what if he looks really good? Zack Thompson is getting an opportunity to fight for a rotation spot as well. That's not even including guys like Sem Robberse, Tekoah Roby, or Cooper Hjerpe. Heck, even Drew Rom and Roddery Munoz are going to take up space in that competition.

10 names I just listed who have a legitimate argument for starts next year, some more so than others. I get none of those guys are sure things, but when you compare that to someone like Matz or Mikolas, is it all that much of a risk to go in the direction of the youth instead? Fedde would be a real loss for this rotation, but wouldn't acquiring future value for this reset be the bigger priority than holding onto Fedde in a walk year?

On the position player side of things, the Cardinals have plenty of starting roles taken by young talent right now. But pitching rise, they've hardly done anything to clear the roadblocks for young pitching to take over. Sure, Gibson and Lynn are sitting in free agency, but as I just listed, there are still plenty of names ready to take their shot.

I guess you could say the bullpen will present some opportunities as well...but is that really the ideal strategy? Ryan Helsley, Ryan Fernandez, JoJo Romero, John King, Kyle Leahy, Chris Roycroft, Riley O'Brien, Ryan Loutos, and likely Liberatore will fight for those eight spots as well. Matt Svanson, Andre Granillo, Bailey Horn, and other prospects with bullpen outlooks may get shots at some point as well. Yes, there will be opportunities to make relief appearances for sure, but it's also changing the playing field for guys who want to stick in the rotation long-term.

Consider me skeptical, at best, when it comes to this plan. If this was a "normal" year in Cardinals land where making a real playoff push was priority number one, I'd understand it. But if the "year of opportunity", it is mind-boggling to me that they do not see the issue here.

Hey, maybe multiple major injuries happen in camp and I'll look like I was jumping the gun here. Even so, not trying to cash in on the value of starters (cough, cough, especially Fedde) while the value is there feels like a major mistake given the direction they say they want to go in.

For now, I'm just shaking my head and hoping for the best. If the Cardinals are not hesitant to pull Matz and Mikolas from the rotation this year in favor of young arms when they are ready, then this can work. But if the majority of their starts in 2025 come from the current five-man group, that will be a major misstep for the organization.