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Cardinals Moving Steven Matz To Bullpen

By Nick Deeds | May 3, 2025 at 8:48pm CDT

The Cardinals are moving southpaw Steven Matz back to the bullpen, as manager Oli Marmol told reporters including Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat. The move may not be permanent, as Jones notes that Marmol described the move as “for the time being,” and added that Marmol made clear that the plan is for Matz to remain stretched out and able to step back into the rotation as needed in the future. The Cardinals have four days off in May, which makes running out a six-man rotation difficult and was the primary reason that Matz began the season in the bullpen before moving into the rotation just over two weeks ago.

Temporary as the move back into a relief role may prove to be, it still has to be a frustrating turn of events for the soon-to-be 34-year-old veteran. It’s impossible to argue that the role change is performance related, as Matz boasts a tidy 1.50 ERA on the season with a 1.89 FIP overall. His work in the rotation has been even better, as in two starts he’s struck out 11 of the 34 batters he’s faced while allowing just one run and zero walks in a combined nine innings of work. Meanwhile, both Erick Fedde and Miles Mikolas have posted below-average numbers by ERA+ across each of their six starts.

With that being said, the move does make some sense. After all, Matz is no stranger to having his role changed in the season. 2025 is the southpaw’s fourth season in St. Louis, and all four of them have seen Matz both start games and pitch in relief. It’s been a tumultuous tenure in St. Louis; while the lefty sports a 4.15 ERA and 3.78 FIP overall that paint him as a fairly typical mid-to-back of the rotation arm, two of his four years with the Cardinals have seen Matz pitch less than 50 innings due to injuries while his ERA ballooned over 5.00. Between Matz’s uneven performances over the years and his experience pitching in relief, it’s hard to deny that there’s logic in moving him to the bullpen rather than a player like Mikolas who last pitched in relief as a major leaguer back in 2013.

Regardless of the role Matz pitches in going forward, he figures to be one of the more coveted arms available at the deadline if the Cardinals can’t turn things around after a 14-19 start and the lefty continues to pitch at anything close to the level he’s performed at this year. Pitching of all sorts is highly desirable on the trade market come the summertime, and contending clubs like the Yankees, Mets, and Rangers already have clear needs that a player like Matz could complement perfectly. The veteran is in his final season under team control, meaning the Cardinals would have little reason to hang onto him if they aren’t in contention come July, and if he can stay stretched out until trade season Matz’s role flexibility could actually make him more valuable on the trade market by keeping teams in need of both rotation help and bullpen help interested in his services.

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St. Louis Cardinals Steven Matz

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30 Comments

  1. TeacherTim

    3 months ago

    Matz to the Mets? Seems like it’d solve a problem for both teams. Mets get that LHP for the pen, and Cardinals cut salary and maybe get a low-tier prospect.

    11
    Reply
    • SteveNVegas

      3 months ago

      What kind of crack are you on?

      16
      Reply
      • Brett Baty’s Bat

        3 months ago

        Gloryhole Crack.

        2
        Reply
    • gbs42

      3 months ago

      Cards need to trade anyone making a large salary they can by the deadline. Play the kids and acknowledge they’ve dug themselves a massive organizational hole that will take a few seasons to dig out of.

      2
      Reply
    • rct

      3 months ago

      “Matz for Jett Williams and Jonah tong”

      There is a 0.0% chance the Mets would trade either of these guys for Matz, much less both of them.

      5
      Reply
      • Brett Baty’s Bat

        3 months ago

        I wouldn’t trade those 2 prospects for Matz + Helsley + King.

        1
        Reply
  2. Canuckleball

    3 months ago

    Matz is the kind of pitcher that Toronto should be after. A guy that can slide right into the rotation and can move to the bullpen later in a long man role if needed. Not to mention he had a good year when he was there in ’21.

    1
    Reply
    • Whyme

      3 months ago

      I’d rather the Jay’s spend the money on a big bat over a lefty pen arm

      Reply
      • Canuckleball

        3 months ago

        I agree they need hitting, but they also need a fifth starter and overall pitching depth, which Matz would be perfect for.

        2
        Reply
  3. Houston Pierce

    3 months ago

    Weird to see the rangers listed as needing pitching help. Our pitching is some of the best in the league right now. Unless Matz can swing a bat then he doesn’t offer much to the rangers.

    1
    Reply
    • Tigers3232

      3 months ago

      deGrom and Leter will likely have their total workloads for season monitored. Mahle has missed huge chunks of time all but 1 season. Corbin’s #s don’t look to be sustainable.

      They ve also taken some hits to bullpen. They definitely could use Matz. He provides depth for rotation as well as bullpen. The fact that pitching has been keeping Rangers afloat is all the more reason to add depth and further strengthen.

      1
      Reply
  4. CardsFan57

    3 months ago

    So we keep two floundering starters in the rotation and demote one of the better performers on the roster. Keep him in the rotation even if you plan to trade him.

    7
    Reply
    • Del Griffith

      3 months ago

      This. I don’t understand what they’re doing. They should have kept Saggese in the lineup until he cooled off as well. Don’t get this at all.

      1
      Reply
    • YankeesBleacherCreature

      3 months ago

      He should 100% be traded by the deadline. Start him even if he only goes 3+ innings. The prep work for starters is very different from relievers. Or just trade him now.

      1
      Reply
  5. Attystephenadams

    3 months ago

    Matz will never be back to the Mets because of how his agent used Cohen and went back on his word when he signed with St. Louis. You don’t make the wealthiest owner in baseball look bad and not have consequences.

    3
    Reply
    • Brett Baty’s Bat

      3 months ago

      Or Steve Cohen is a businessman.
      A left Handed reliever for the Mets is more important than wounded 13 year old boy style feelings.

      1
      Reply
  6. GarryHarris

    3 months ago

    Who will accuse the Cardinals of having a good manager? Erick Fedde isn’t doing very well nor is Andre Pallante pitching like a superstar but, what do I know?

    1
    Reply
    • BadMojo

      3 months ago

      You know nothing

      Reply
  7. PistolPete44

    3 months ago

    Ship is out of control.

    1
    Reply
  8. eatonculo

    3 months ago

    I’m not a fan of Miles Mikolas at all – both professionally and personally – but he’s been pretty good in five of his six starts. Saying he has “below-average numbers by ERA+” across six starts is misleading.

    Reply
  9. westcasey

    3 months ago

    Cardinals Manager is lousy. He has slowly deflated competitive nature of great franchise (O’Neill, Contreras..) and combined with lame-duck GM has combined to spiral StL into free fall(Arenado..) Attendance is generally -10,000 per.

    2
    Reply
    • Dad

      3 months ago

      Lousy is not even a word close enough for Oli and Mo .They will be gone soon!!!!

      2
      Reply
  10. This one belongs to the Reds

    3 months ago

    Cardinals used to be a model franchise. Now they are sputtering around like an old Pinto.

    3
    Reply
  11. Dad

    3 months ago

    Matz is maddening as a baseball fan. He will throw 7 or 8 games and look amazing and out of know where , IL , then out 4 months.
    11 million a year, he can be yours for next to nothing because Mo will Mo it up !

    3
    Reply
  12. Kenny14

    3 months ago

    I wouldn’t even report this. It is not even newsworthy. Who cares what the Cardinals are doing. They decide to make news to keep the Cardinals name out there relevant. How does this make the team a contender? Time for the cheapskate Dewitt to take MO’s keys to the building and move on. Let’s look to the future now. Mo and Marmol can’t look past the next hour! Time for someone to step up and take the reins. I’ve had enough.

    Reply
  13. leftcoaster

    3 months ago

    Never give up on the amazing Matz.

    Reply
  14. stymeedone

    3 months ago

    At the moment, Baez is needed in Detroit as their primary CF.

    Reply
  15. MLBTR needs to hire editors

    3 months ago

    Come on, Deeds. “Temporary as the move back into a relief role may prove to be” is NOT PROPER ENGLISH. You can’t just leave “as” out to begin the sentence. It’s not optional! Grammar is not optional when you’re being paid to write.

    Reply
    • tominco

      3 months ago

      You may be right, but it doesn’t matter if nothing has been written in a week.

      1
      Reply
    • skywalkr2

      3 months ago

      I don’t pay for MLBTR, so I am not surprised they have to cut corners.

      Reply

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