Mozeliak's recent rotation comments appear tone-deaf to Cardinals fans

The St. Louis Cardinals came into July looking to prove their worth in the postseason conversation, but a rough stretch has them looking more like pretenders than contenders. Even with the team's issues staring fans straight in the face, the main decision-makers do not appear ready to make an adjustment to the roster.

John Mozeliak says "there's just not a spot open" in the rotation for Michael McGreevy.

The past series against the Chicago Cubs had the feeling of a season-defining three-game set and also had the potential to put the Cardinals squarely in the NL Central race as well as hold onto a Wild Card spot. Even with Yohel Pozo's heroics in game two, the series was a miserable showing and showed how far behind the division-leading Cubs that St. Louis truly is. Despite saying they wish to compete this year while providing opportunity for younger players, the Cardinals continued to trot out two of the Major Leagues' worst starters in Miles Mikolas in game one and Erick Fedde in game three.

Mikolas had another historic performance for the Cardinals on Apple TV+, although this one was due to the fact he allowed six homers in the first three innings to pave the way for a blowout loss. Looking to keep momentum from Pozo's big swing in game two, Fedde was tasked with trying to limit the Cubs' offense while working through command issues. Surprising to nobody, Fedde struggled again and was pulled after 1.1 innings and has now given up 17 earned runs over his last 10 innings. Beyond the runs, Fedde has walked nine hitters while striking out just two. Cardinals fans hoped that Fedde's quick hook would be the last time they would have to see him pitch in St. Louis, but it appears President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak does not agree it is time to make a change.

Manager Oli Marmol said the team would assess the rotation because "continuing to go down this road doesn’t seem like it’s beneficial at the moment," according to the manager. However, that assessment does not appear like it will go very far because Mozeliak made some comments (before Fedde's start) that not only frustrate Cardinals fans, but also show there's a lack of urgency in making any changes. To fans, it appeared simple to get rid of Fedde before the team even left Chicago and make a one-for-one swap with rookie Michael McGreevy, who has shown well in his limited opportunities with the major league club while also performing well in Memphis.

The continued reasoning for McGreevy's stay in Memphis is the lack of minor league depth. Fans do not want to hear about how the minor league team needs innings when the major league team, the one we pay to see every day, needs effective innings. Beyond this lack of depth, the Cardinals have been surprisingly (and unfortunately?) healthy with none of their starters having an IL stint to this point of the season.

During Mozeliak's pregame comments that can be read in Katie Woo's most recent piece for The Athletic (subscription-required), he was very complimentary of McGreevy, saying he has been pitching well in Memphis and in his few starts in St. Louis while maintaining a good attitude despite constantly being optioned back down to Triple-A after his spot starts. McGreevy has never been a top prospect, but he is the Cardinals' best major-league ready arm who has shown the ability to complete at the highest level and has nothing left to prove in Memphis. With the Redbirds, McGreevy is 8-2 with a 3.21 ERA and has struck out 75 batters against only 14 walks in 70 minor league innings. Command of the strike zone is something the current Cardinals rotation, Fedde especially, is sorely lacking.

However, Mozeliak continues to refuse to commit to any change, despite the back end of the rotation struggling to not only give quality innings, but to eat innings like they were supposed to do. Mozeliak's last comment in Woo's piece has to be frustrating to the team, Marmol, McGreevy, and fans, as he said “(McGreevy) is a major-league pitcher, there’s just not a spot open."

That is an astonishingly tone-deaf comment from someone who has all of the power to create that spot for an obvious increase in talent.