The St. Louis Cardinals Can’t Be Cheap With Their Pitching Staff

The St. Louis Cardinals pitching staff really let them down this season. It’s a reason why they are at the bottom of the NL Central and are about to finish with their worst record since 1990. At the trade deadline, St. Louis traded away two of their starters essentially waiving the white flag and focusing more on 2024. The Cardinals have the offense to compete, however, their pitching staff needs a significant upgrade. To be competitive again and return to the postseason, the Cardinals are going to have to spend money this offseason.

John Mozeliak’s Mistake

Despite many question marks surrounding the pitching staff, Cardinals President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak was content with his starting rotation. It consisted of Adam Wainwright, Jack Flaherty, Steven Matz, Jordan Montgomery, Miles Mikolas, and Matthew Liberatore. The Cardinals finished the first month of the season with a 10-19 record and never really recovered. The bottom really fell out in June when St. Louis only won eight games that entire month. Adam Wainwright has shown its father time for him, Steven Matz was relegated to the bullpen at one point, Jordan Montgomery has been the only effective pitcher, Matthew Liberatore has struggled, and Jack Flaherty and Mile Mikolas have been inconsistent.

As a team, the Cardinals’ pitching rotation has an earned run average of 4.71. Opponents are also batting .276 against St. Louis pitching. There have been countless times this season when the Cardinals offense has put up

Waving The White Flag On 2023

With the season lost, St. Louis dealt both Jordan Montgomery and Jack Flaherty to the Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles respectively. In return, the Cardinals received various prospects from both clubs. While getting younger players in the pipeline is always a good thing, there is no guarantee that those players will make an impact in the big leagues.

St. Louis Needs To Spend More To Win

One thing the Cardinals are opposed to for some reason is spending lots of money. Their payroll of $153,001,431 puts them just below the league average. However, attempting to imitate teams like the Tampa Bay Rays isn’t going to get them back into the postseason. The pitching has been so porous that Mozeliak should be pounding on owner Bill Dewitt Jr.’s door begging for more money.

A Free Agency Class That Can Help Solve The Pitching Problems

While the free agency class of starting pitchers isn’t as strong as last year, there are still plenty that can make a positive impact. This year’s class includes Aaron Nola, Marcus Stroman, Eduardo Rodriguez, Sonny Gray, Blake Snell, and more. St. Louis should pursue one or more of those free agents. Considering what St. Louis currently has in its starting rotation, spending money to upgrade it should be a high priority for the organization.

Don’t Be Cheap

The season that the St. Louis Cardinals have had this year is unacceptable by their standards. There were plenty of mistakes made by John Mozeliak and the front office last year that resulted in this mess. Given how bad their rotation has been this season, the Cardinals can’t afford to be cheap in upgrading the starting rotation. If the Cardinals decide to spend a lot more money on the rotation, then it won’t be long until they are back in the postseason.

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