The St. Louis Cardinals accomplished their main objective of retooling the rotation with three proven hurlers this offseason but there are concerns that the club might need more depth.
There have been numerous missed opportunities to bolster the replenished rotation further but president of baseball operations John Mozeliak continues to remain content with his starting pitching arsenal.
Mozeliak was asked Tuesday about where he stands on pursuing other pitching options but his comments remain on par with what he’s been saying for the past few months.
“I definitely feel it’s not something that is required at this point,” Mozeliak told MLB.com’s John Denton on Tuesday. “Obviously if something changes, we’d have to look at it differently. But we’re not thinking we’ll have to do anything now.”
This statement by Mozeliak comes after the most recent injury update of St. Louis’ top starter Sonny Gray — who likely won’t be pitching on Opening Day due to a mild hamstring strain.
Even though Gray’s absence is likely short-term, the Cardinals are now faced with the reality that their rotation is in serious trouble if one of their top starters does suffer an injury that impacts them long-term.
St. Louis’ rotation is composed of Gray — a reigning American League Cy Young runner-up — Kyle Gibson, Lance Lynn, and Miles Mikolas — three middling to lower level pitchers above the age of 35 — and Steven Matz, whose performance has been as volatile as his health in recent seasons.
The Cardinals might be in trouble this upcoming season if their starting pitchers cannot remain healthy or perform as Mozeliak expects.
There are still some quality options available in free agency but Mozeliak all but ruled that out. The next most likely path would be a trade deadline acquisition if the Cardinals can be competitive for the first half of the season.
