With MLB pitcher injury crisis, did John Mozeliak prove the doubters wrong?

The last several days have been brutal for Major League Baseball. In the modern game, we are seeing the most electric and jaw-dropping pitching the sport has ever seen. But this evolution of the game is coming at a cost. The month of April has been headline after headline of MLB aces going down with elbow injuries. Most teams are entering the third rotation of the pitching staff in this very young season. Now they are running out of options to fill out a five-man rotation going forward.

Many are arguing that the game's turn of focus to maximum velocity and spin rates is the main contributor to this alerting concern. Many are also arguing that the pitch clock introduced to MLB in 2023 is causing a rapid increase in arm injuries. This theory can be tracked and analyzed given the pitch clock has been in minor league baseball since 2015. But one thing is for sure which is Rob Manfred and Tony Clark have a major issue that is plaguing the game and this situation needs to be addressed with every representative of every organization.

But one team is operating like normal and is not facing the harsh implications of losing their rotation. That would be.....The St. Louis Cardinals? John Mozeliak set out to get pitching, pitching, and more pitching. The rotation and bullpen have seen an overhaul that is aimed to fix the underlying issues from 2023 and have this team ready to compete for the postseason in 2024. Fans and the media have questioned the front office's decision to sign veteran arms based on the simple matter that they are innings eaters, and not on the fact that they can still be effective arms to win games. So far in 2024, Mozeliak is laughing at his doubters. The overall staff is ranked 17th in MLB in team ERA and the starters are ranked 20th. This does not look like a ranking to be necessarily proud of, but it is much more improvement than the 2023 team.

As we turn into the fourth series of the season for the Cardinals versus the Philadelphia Phillies, we had the impressive debut of Sonny Gray from Tuesday night, and all five projected starters are in the rotation going forward. As many organizations are panicking to call up undeveloped prospects to carry unprepared workloads and to begin scouting for trade deadline candidates that will be overpriced given the severity of the pitching market, the Cardinals find themselves in a comfortable spot. Many going after innings eaters was the best decision after all.