Why the Cardinals hope a six-man rotation will help keep their starting pitchers healthy

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ST. LOUIS — When the St. Louis Cardinals broke camp in late March, they identified April 16 as the first checkpoint of their season.

The Cardinals planned to transition from a traditional five-man rotation to a six-man squad. The most pressing question was who would be the odd man out of the rotation to begin the year. With St. Louis emphasizing youth this season, the club named Matthew Liberatore the fifth starter, and designated Matz to the bullpen. But Matz threw well in spring, and the Cardinals didn’t want to limit him solely to long relief.

To compromise, St. Louis planned for Wednesday to be Matz’s first start since the final week of spring training. He could have hardly drawn it up better.

Matz dazzled in his first start of the season, notching five innings of one-run ball in the series rubber match against the Houston Astros, which the Cardinals won 4-1. After giving up two singles up the middle to start the game, Matz dialed in and retired his next 15 consecutive hitters. He finished with two hits allowed, five strikeouts and no walks on 71 pitches — slightly above his pitch count of 65.

Steven Matz, Dirty 82mph Changeup. 👌 pic.twitter.com/w25ZD3VoKM

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 16, 2025

“Being here the last three years, kind of being in the rotation, dealing with injuries, just gives you a different appreciation for being here, being healthy and able to compete in any capacity to help the team win,” Matz said. “I think that was my mindset going in. It was fun to get out there and start today.”

Situations like these can be delicate. Matz, a 33-year-old veteran, is entering the final year of his contract. The Cardinals opted to present Liberatore with the starting role because they deemed it best for Liberatore’s long-term future. Matz could have been offended by the decision. Instead, according to manager Oli Marmol, he was “a total pro.”

“This could have easily gone sideways,” Marmol said. “You have a guy that’s going into free agency, and he’s going to want every start. But he’s done a really nice job of understanding where we are, what’s needed and why we’re doing it. … I think he pitched well enough to be in the rotation, to be clear. And I expressed that to him. At the same time, he understood why we’re doing what we’re doing, and how he is best positioned to serve that role.”

Why was Matz so agreeable? The first three years of his Cardinals tenure have been marred by injury. While disappointing, he says that experience allowed him to change his mindset heading into what will likely be his final year in St. Louis.

“I’ve had some frustrating points throughout my tenure with the Cardinals so far, from a personal standpoint,” Matz said. “Injuries, not having the success I wanted. So this year, my main emphasis is to enjoy wherever I’m at. I’m healthy. I had a really good offseason. I had a good spring training. I feel really good. So whatever they decide, I’m just going to enjoy it and I’m going to compete. I think it’s really been helping me.”

The Cardinals rotation has been baseball’s best over the last week. Entering play Wednesday, Cardinals starters combined for a 1.07 ERA, a .143 opposing average and a .416 opposing OPS — all MLB-leading marks. It’s fair to question why they had planned to use a six-man rotation so far in advance, and if it’s really needed. But there are multiple layers to the decision, all of which reflect the top priority for the club early in the season: preserving their starting pitching depth.

Let’s dive into why the Cardinals were so intentional about their six-man rotation plans, and what it signals beyond the major-league club.

Protecting pitcher health is utmost priority

A report published by Major League Baseball in December highlighted the rising amount of pitcher injuries, with concerns ranging from velocity increase, chasing movement (or “stuff” in pitcher terms) and the emphasis of max-effort training and performance. Pitcher injuries have risen steadily over the last two decades, the report details, but the biggest spike has occurred in spring training and the very beginning of the regular season.

This season is no exception. New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole will miss the entirety of the 2025 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Chicago Cubs starter Justin Steele will also undergo a procedure on his elbow. Jared Jones, who was slated to be the Pittsburgh Pirates’ No. 2 starter, is expected to miss significant time with a UCL sprain. Pablo López, the Minnesota Twins’ Opening Day starter, landed on the 15-day injured list last week with a hamstring strain. Blake Snell, one of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ top free-agent acquisitions, has been sidelined with left shoulder inflammation since his last start on April 3.

Blake Snell made two starts for the Dodgers before going on the shelf with shoulder inflammation. His return has not yet been scheduled. (Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)

The list includes Kyle Bradish and Grayson Rodriguez, two of eight Orioles pitchers currently on the IL. The Milwaukee Brewers also have eight pitchers out of commission; the Dodgers have 12.

“We were specific with April 16 because it would be the first time we’d go through the rotation and switch to four days of rest,” Marmol said. “When you look at safety in March and April, that’s a big part of it. Being able to ramp up and keep our guys that are on the roster, on the roster, we felt like inserting (Matz) on the 16th and staying on track made the most sense.”

“This gives you two days after your start to recover and ramp into your bullpen where you can get some actual work in,” Blake added. “Then you get two days after that to make sure you’re recovering properly for the best chance to win the game once your next start rolls around.”

Members of the rotation agree that staying on a five-day rest period is beneficial, especially in April.

“It’s always nice to have the extra day,” Fedde said after his start Tuesday, in which he allowed one run on six hits over six innings in a 2-0 loss to the Astros. “The goal is to be playing important games in August, September, October. Right now, of course we want the ball as much as we can, but it’s really important that we get that rest and be fresh for the end of the year.”

Lack of depth presents another layer to consider

Why are the Cardinals so concerned about their starting pitchers’ health? What little depth currently available in Triple A has left the organization apprehensive. Outside of 2021 first-round pick Michael McGreevy, the Cardinals don’t have many options deemed major-league ready in the minor leagues. Two players designated to fill in as spot starters — Zack Thompson (lat strain) and Drew Rom (shoulder) — went down with injuries in spring training. Top prospects Quinn Mathews and Tink Hence are on the injured list as well (though neither would be in consideration for a call-up at this time anyway). Gordon Graceffo could be an option later in the season, but he isn’t stretched out to start after spending most of the spring as a multi-innings reliever.

“When you look at our depth, we’d like to keep our rotation where it’s at,” Marmol said. “The best way to do that, or at least position them to best stay healthy, is to stay on five days of rest all the way through April. This allows you to take rest and actually still work on what you need to work on.”

#STLCards announce 2022 first-round pick Cooper Hjerpe has undergone Tommy John surgery. He will miss the rest of the 2025 season and is expected to return midway through 2026.

— Katie Woo (@katiejwoo) April 15, 2025

The Cardinals fully expect to see McGreevy at some point during the season. If an injury occurs, they’d be fully comfortable slotting him in as a replacement. Part of the reason McGreevy didn’t make the major-league club, even after posting arguably the most impressive spring, was because the organization wanted to commit to him as a starting pitcher, regardless of if that meant beginning the year in Triple A.

That means St. Louis will continue being creative with their bullpen. They’ve shuffled relievers already: Chris Roycroft was optioned on April 9 for Roddery Muñoz. Muñoz was optioned after Tuesday’s loss for Matt Svanson. While using a six-man rotation means the Cardinals will only have seven relievers, many of those arms (Phil Maton, Kyle Leahy, John King, Ryan Fernandez and JoJo Romero) are all capable of going more than one inning, if needed.

“We have more flexibility with options that we can flip for length,” Marmol said.

Consistency with Liberatore matters too

A six-man rotation also ensures that Liberatore can remain a starter, which has been a huge point of emphasis for the Cardinals.

The early returns from Liberatore have been encouraging. He’s logged 18 1/3 innings over three starts with eight earned runs, 18 strikeouts and just one walk. The 25-year-old has two quality starts on his ledger. Liberatore’s improvement from start to start has pleased Marmol and Blake the most.

Before the season, Marmol was adamant that Liberatore would receive a legitimate runway as a starting pitcher and that he would not bounce between the rotation and the bullpen. Liberatore, who spent the first three years of his major-league career shuffling between St. Louis and Triple-A Memphis as both a starter and a reliever, had yet to have that opportunity, despite coming over via trade as a top starting pitching prospect. In previous seasons, Liberatore’s usage plan often changed by the week based on what the major-league team needed at the time. With the Cardinals emphasizing development this year, the organization sought a consistent role for him in the rotation — especially after his strong spring.

Matthew Liberatore has impressed the Cardinals with his improvements from start to start. (Jeff Curry / Imagn Images)

“If we really want to find out about Libby, then the best thing to do — out of fairness to him — is to say you’re in the starting rotation,” Marmol said. “Not, ‘Hey, you’re going to be in the pen, and then on the 16th you’ll be in the rotation, and after that we’ll see.’ 

“That would defeat the purpose of what you’re trying to do with someone like him. Saying he’s in the rotation and this isn’t a tryout allows him to drop his shoulders, be himself, and go get better every outing.”

Blake concurred: “You’re not feeling like you have to show up and prepare for two extremely different opportunities. (For one), you need to be ready within two to three minutes and you go from warming up on a mound to (pitching) in a game. The other one, you have five days to prepare. You’ve got more time to look at the lineup, a better idea of how you’re going to attack that lineup. The time and opportunity for him to prepare would help most people, and I think that’s what we’re seeing with him.”

When asked what’s been the most helpful about his time in the rotation so far,  Liberatore agreed with Blake’s assessment.

“It’s really helped me double down on how I evaluate things and looking at execution and my processes and routines,” said Liberatore, whose next scheduled start is Saturday against the New York Mets at Citi Field. “I’ve been given a much more stable runway to plan my days and make sure I’m maximizing my time at the field every day, instead of spitballing based off what the schedule might be that day. In terms of preparation and processes, that’s helped me quite a bit.”

The six-man rotation is for now … not forever

The Cardinals will ride a six-man rotation at least until April 24, their lone scheduled day off between April 11 and May 8. Matz will take one more start — April 22 against Atlanta at Truist Park — before the club re-evaluates its plan. The Cardinals could go with it one more time through, but in May the schedule returns to regular off days. The Cardinals will have four straight Thursdays off in May, meaning starters can stay on the five-day rest plan without the need for an extra arm.

It’s unlikely the Cardinals continue using a six-man rotation past early May. As for who returns to the bullpen? Matz is the answer that makes the most sense, but performances like Wednesday’s will make that decision much more difficult.

(Top photo of Matz: Tim Vizer / Imagn Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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