The Cardinals may skip Steven Matz's next start in the rotation

It's safe to say Steven Matz has been disappointing this season, and the Cardinals may be ready to shake things up

With Adam Wainwright set to return from injury here in the near future, many have wondered how the St. Louis Cardinals would handle their rotation when he returns. While Jake Woodford is an obvious candidate for a move to the bullpen or Triple-A, Steven Matz now finds himself on the hot seat as well.

In five starts this year, Matz has thrown just 26 innings with a 0-3 record and 6.23 ERA. Things just have not looked good for Matz at all, and they can't afford to mess around with his starts much longer.

After signing a four-year, $44 million deal with the Cardinals in November 2021, Matz dealt with injuries and poor performance last year, finishing 5-3 with a 5.25 ERA in 48 innings of work. This season, right-handed hitters have an .903 OPS against him. I can't imagine Matz remaining in the rotation much longer if that continues.

According to John Denton of MLB.com, sources within the Cardinals' organization say they are considering skipping his next start. I would guess skipping that start would still give him at least one more start in the rotation before they would consider removing him, but it's hard not to look at someone like Matthew Liberatore as a great replacement for Matz.

If the Cardinals do skip Matz's next start, I think they should strongly consider moving him to the bullpen as another left-handed option, sending JoJo Romero down the Memphis, and inserting Liberatore into the rotation.