Cardinals: 3 Opening Day starters who should be replaced by the trade deadline

2) Carlos Martinez’ rotation struggles from last summer have carried over for the Cardinals this season.

At some point the Cardinals may want to consider a move to the bullpen for pitcher Carlos Martinez.

Going back to last summer, Martinez owns a 7.09 ERA in his last 20 starts. His 56 earned runs in 17 starts this season are the most in the National League and the fourth-most in the majors. Using Martinez as a reliever wouldn’t completely close the door on his future in the rotation, but his chance to be worked as a long reliever could be beneficial to both Martinez and the Cardinals.

The 29-year-old appeared exclusively as a bullpen arm in 48 games during the 2019 season. He finished that year with a 3.17 ERA, 1.179 WHIP, and a 9.9 K/9 ratio across 48.1 innings.

Martinez still has a $17 million team option for next season, and a $18 million team option for 2023. He also has $500k buyouts for each of those years as well. It’ll be interesting to see which direction the Cardinals choose to head with or without Martinez.

Should they fall out of the playoff hunt, depending on how much of a rebuild or retool they choose, it could very well mean buying Martinez out of his deal. It’d be hard to imagine a team revamping it’s roster would want to pay a starting pitcher a salary that high with a six-plus earned run average.