Final predictions for the St. Louis Cardinals on trade deadline day

How the rotation and bullpen shake out will ruffle some feathers

With the addition of Erick Fedde and a new bullpen arm, things will need to be shaken up in the Cardinals' rotation and bullpen.

Rotation

Even though Andre Pallante has been the club's best starter since he entered the rotation, John Mozeliak acknowledged that he is the likeliest candidate to lose their spot in the rotation right now. They are still weighing other scenarios or expanding to a six-man rotation for a time, but I do believe they'll just remove Pallante.

That would set up the Cardinals' rotation as Sonny Gray, Erick Fedde, Kyle Gibson, Miles Mikolas, and Lance Lynn. The top three of that group won't scare anyone in October but should help the Cardinals compete in those matchups if they get there. At the very least, the acquisition of Fedde should help St. Louis in a major race with their push toward October.

Bullpen

Baking in the fact I believe the Cardinals will add another reliever, I believe their bullpen will fall into place like so:

Ryan Helsley, Andrew Kittredge, Ryan Fernandez, JoJo Romero, and that new reliever will all be a part of their bullpen as their high-leverage options. Having five trusted names in that group goes a long way toward this team competing down the stretch.

I believe that John King is the only other lock at this point for the bullpen, as a number of other names may secure a spot based on injuries, performance, and how the Cardinals want to set things up.

I think Matthew Liberatore will stay in the bullpen, but if they get creative with other options, he could be sent down to Memphis to stretch out in case of emergency this season and to compete for the rotation in 2025. If not, he will be a left-handed specialist out of the bullpen.

If King and Liberatore are in the bullpen, that leaves one more spot, and I think for now it would go to Pallante. Pallante can be the spot starter instead of Liberatore when that need arises or go multiple innings when called upon in this role. But they also could send him to Memphis to stay ready to be reinserted into the rotation at some point.

The problem with that though is that it leaves out the ability for the Cardinals to call up and send down fresh arms with one of those spots. They could do that with King or Liberatore, so maybe they do that for a short time, but I really could see them rostering Roycroft or Leahy over Pallante for a stretch.

The other dynamic is that Steven Matz is making rehab appearances now, and I do think he will return as a reliever for the rest of the season. If that's the case, he'll need to take a bullpen spot from King, Liberatore, or Pallante as well.