4 Cardinals who should have a larger role in 2025, 3 who should not

Steven Matz should be relegated to the bullpen

I think we are already seeing the Cardinals do this, but unless they are able to move Matz in a deal this offseason, his final year with the club needs to be out of the bullpen.

I'm not opposed to Matz being a depth starting option for the Cardinals as well, but his role with the club needs to be primarily out of the bullpen unless multiple injuries happen or they need a random spot starter. Matz just has not done enough in his first three seasons with the club to warrant a spot in their rotation again, and with all the other options they have, I don't really even see him earning a spot if he was given the opportunity in Spring Training.

Instead, they can make the most of a bad situation and know that he is one of their left-handed options for 2025. With JoJo Romero regressing in the second half, the Cardinals could really use more left-handed options to pair with John King and Matthew Liberatore behind him. While I see Liberatore being a great reliever for the Cardinals next year, I understand why they may want to stretch him out one more time and see what he can do as a starter, so having Matz as a bullpen piece already would help with that.

The Cardinals have options on King and Liberatore, so either could be sent to Memphis if needed to begin the year to give Matz a chance out of the bullpen. And honestly, we kind of have to expect an injury to Matz based on how the last few years have gone, so it is important to have options behind him. The Cardinals could even carry four lefties in the bullpen next year if they trust one or two of them to face right-handers often.

The Cardinals should not be afraid to bite the bullet on Matz in a trade this offseason or by cutting him in 2025 if there are better options than him at their disposal. I understand bringing him into camp and seeing what happens if they are unable to trade him, but they do not need to be married to him on their roster. The Cardinals always seem to get into trouble when they let the "contract' play over the youngsters, so don't make that mistake again with Matz.