Boom or Bust: 3 St. Louis Cardinals decisions that will define their 2023 season
By Kevin Henry
Boom or bust decision 2: The St. Louis Cardinals put their faith in their current rotation
Think back to that Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series against Philadelphia and who the Cardinals rolled out as their starting pitcher that day. If you don’t remember, the answer is Jose Quintana, a pitcher they picked up at the trade deadline and proceeded not to re-sign this offseason as he took an offer from the New York Mets.
St. Louis rolled the proverbial dice this offseason by deciding that the price was too high to sign free agent Carlos Rodon or make a trade with the Miami Marlins for Pablo Lopez. That roll of the dice was because the Cardinals have faith in Adam Wainwright, Miles Mikolas, Jordan Montgomery, Steven Matz, and Jack Flaherty. Those five starters (and how healthy they stay) will likely have a big say in just how far St. Louis goes this season.
For the 41-year-old Wainwright, there is every belief he will continue to defy Father Time and be a consistent, successful arm for the Cardinals. However, he also struggled down the stretch after being hit by a comebacker in late August. For Flaherty, the hope is for the first fully healthy season since he finished fourth in the Cy Young balloting in 2019. Matz is hoping to bounce back from his first season in a St. Louis uniform when he threw just 48.0 innings.
For any team, health is a concern. However, for the Cardinals after passing on options to upgrade the rotation, that decision to stay pat and not add to the pitching depth could loom large in 2023 if any starter is lost for a significant amount of time.