The Cardinals are making a mistake by brushing off starting pitching needs

The Cardinals seem to have narrowed down what their trade deadline priorities are. Some of them make sense, while others are a little confusing. On Saturday, John Mozeliak talked with Jim Hayes and discussed the deadline, and he seemed to put an emphasis on acquiring at least one bullpen arm.

However, when he was asked about starting pitching, he didn't speak with the same urgency.

"I don't think that's something we're going to go and make an irrational decision for, but if there's something that makes sense, we'll certainly consider it," Mozeliak told Hayes.

If there's something that makes sense? Mozeliak's tone here is a little concerning. The need for a starting pitcher, one that can be trusted in a playoff game is obvious, but Mozeliak doesn't seem terribly interested in acquiring a starter.

Cardinals are making the same mistake that caused problems in 2023

Last year is still fresh in people's minds. The Cardinals finished in last place with a record of 71-91 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2018. The main culprit was their lack of starting pitching. It was an obvious need heading into the 2023 season that got ignored.

Yes, this team is far better than it was last year, but the cracks are starting to show in the rotation. Kyle Gibson has given up four runs in three of his last four starts and has only completed five innings twice. Andre Pallante has performed well, but the only current starter with an ERA under 4 is Sonny Gray.

Offense and bullpen help are definitely needs, and the offense has been the main weakness of this team. But the Cardinals are once again ignoring the obvious, that a starting pitcher is needed. To ignore that need would be a grave mistake.

I've mentioned how if the Cardinals don't get the deadline right, they may experience a slight downturn in August with the tough schedule they have. If the rotation isn't fixed, then that becomes a very strong possibility when they face other playoff contenders that have solid starting pitching.

Now I'm not ignoring the fact that the rotation is much improved. For the most part, Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn have done well and given the Cardinals the innings they needed, but this is not a rotation that's going to get you anywhere in the playoffs. You need two starters to carry the load most of the time. The Cardinals have one.

At the very least, they need more options in their rotation if something goes wrong and somebody gets hurt. An injury would be a devastating setback and put the Cardinals back in the position they were before Pallante took the bull by the horns and secured the fifth spot. Steven Matz coming back won't help. He can no longer be relied upon as a starter.

Depth options are thin, and if the Cardinals aren't going to make that big move to get a second starter, they need to at least target somebody who's young and cost-controlled. For that, they could look to the Mariners, who have Bryce Miller, Bryan Woo, and Emerson Hancock, or the Dodgers, who have Bobby Miller.

This is why for a while I was beating the drum on selling and making Ryan Helsley a part of that sale to replenish the starting pitching supply within the organization. Now that they're in playoff position, it's obvious that isn't going to happen, but the need for a rotation arm is obvious for St. Louis.