To win the World Series, a team must have quality pitching both in the starting rotation and bullpen. Apparently, the St. Louis Cardinals front office didn’t get that memo. Going into the season, the Cardinals’ pitching staff had many question marks, yet the front office was content. Despite being picked by many to win the NL Central, they are off to their worst start since 2017. St. Louis has nobody but itself to blame for not addressing their pitching issues.
So Many Questions but No Action Was Taken
Heading into the season, the Cardinals’ pitching staff faced many questions about age, consistency, and health. Ace Adam Wainwright is 41, Jack Flaherty, Miles Mikolas, and Steven Matz are either injured or inconsistent, and the jury is out on Jordan Montgomery. However, President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak decided the rotation was set for 2023. He even decided to pass on marquee free-agent pitchers like Carlos Rodon, Justin Verlander, Jacob DeGrom, and more. This was a foolish move and clearly playing in the weak NL Central has made the front office delusional. After all, they have problems beating teams outside their division with a .500 or better record.
Disaster struck immediately before the season; Adam Wainwright sustained a groin injury that would keep him out for several weeks. This meant that St. Louis’s already thin starting pitching depth would be getting tested early. The early season results haven’t been pretty for the Cardinals. St. Louis is off to their worst start since 2017, their staff has a collective ERA of 5.06, a WHIP of 1.58, and opponents are hitting .298 against them. These are the kind of pitching stats where John Mozeliak might as well hide under a table in his Busch Stadium suite.
They Traded Away Two Future Stars
Remember this is the same General Manager who traded prospects Sandy Alcantara and Zac Gallen for Marcel Ozuna. Sandy Alcantara has become the best starting pitcher in the league and Zac Gallen is coming into his own. While Ozuna proved to be a good hitter, he was a liability defensively and only lasted two seasons in St. Louis. That trade continues to haunt the Cardinals every season.
Could the Cardinals Miss the Postseason?
Starting pitching has been a problem for the Cardinals for a while, yet they neglect to do anything about it. The staff has plenty of issues to address heading into this season but thought the problems would solve themselves. It’s no surprise to me that the Cardinals are off to a rough start to begin the year due to lackluster pitching. The Cardinals haven’t advanced past the wild-card round in three years and pitching has almost always let them down. If the pitching doesn’t improve, they might not even make the postseason.
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