7 players who should be entering their final days on the Cardinals

Kyle Gibson

The Cardinals should already have Sonny Gray, Erick Fedde, and Andre Pallante penciled into their 2025 rotation at this point. After those names, any of Quinn Mathews, Michael McGreevy, Adam Kloffenstein, Sem Robberse, Matthew Liberatore, and Gordon Graceffo should have the opportunity to earn a spot in the rotation.

Looking down even further, could any of Tink Hence, Ian Bedell, or Cooper Hjerpe end up being options at some point during the 2025 season? I certainly would not rule that out. In all, that makes three locked in starters, six names who could fight for rotation spots, and three more names who could join the mix later on in the year.

There is a lot of variance and risk with this group, which is why the Cardinals may feel inclined to bring back Kyle Gibson. But in my opinion, no matter which direction the Cardinals go as an organization next year, Gibson is not needed in this rotation anymore. Let me explain.

If the Cardinals are trying to win next year, why would Gibson be the guy they use to fix out one of those two rotation spots? The Cardinals have to add a second front-line starter to pair with Sonny Gray if they want to do damage next season, and freeing up that money they'd be paying Gibson could help with that, even as they likely shrink payroll, actually, especially because of the fact they want to shrink payroll.

If the Cardinals want to have a retool year, why have Gibson in the rotation over young arms that they need to give exposure to? In the best-case scenario, Gibson helps them scrap for a Wild Card spot or is a trade piece at the deadline, but his presence would block at least one young arm from an opportunity. The value that St. Louis could get from letting those young arms throw next year could be invaluable for their roster building in 2026 and beyond.

Gibson is the pitcher I feel most comfortable with out of the ones I've listed today who need to go, but don't the Cardinals already have his profile in Fedde and Pallante? And wouldn't they kind of be hoping that the young arms do what Gibson can do? Sure, Mathews has a higher ceiling, but they can't expect big-time production from him already.

Let Gibson walk and be a contributor for a rotation next year that needs back-end stability. The Cardinals, if they are going to put resources toward their starting pitching, need to target front-end starters, and allow their young arms to backfill the rotation.