Who should stay and who should be removed from the Cardinals' rotation after deadline

Andre Pallante

Pallante is probably the most obvious candidate for removal. He wasn't part of the Opening Day rotation. Instead, Pallante was part of the Opening Day bullpen. That went terribly. Pallante appeared in just nine games, pitching to a 6.30 ERA. Opponents crushed him, hitting to an OPS of .820. On April 20th, Pallante pitched the final three innings of a blowout loss to Milwaukee and was promptly demoted to AAA Memphis. However, a month later, Pallante was promoted, this time as a starter. On May 29th, Pallante twirled six innings of shutout ball against the Cincinnati Reds, leading the Cardinals to a 5-3 victory.

Since then, Pallante has pitched well. In eight starts, he owns an ERA of 3.70. Pallante has pitched into the seventh in each of his last two starts. Only once did he not at least give the team a chance to win. The Cardinals are 5-3 in his starts. He has, by any measure, been a productive member of this rotation, and it's difficult to envision a future without Pallante. It's also worth mentioning that Pallante probably carries more value as a starter at this point. His stuff generates ground balls and soft contact. Stretched out over five or six innings, he's capable of pitching well. However, his lack of strikeout stuff makes it difficult to rattle off shutdown innings. He's also shown an ability to eat innings, something the Cardinals have benefitted from. He's pitched into the sixth inning in five starts.

As well as Pallante has pitched, it's still possible that he's the odd man out. He'd be the easiest to demote from a logistical standpoint. Pallante would either move to the bullpen or return to Memphis. The Cardinals have already optioned him this year, meaning they'd be likely to do so again. It's possible that Pallante is removed in favor of Steven Matz as well, though his return date is still unknown at the moment.

Verdict: Likely to lose his spot