The St. Louis Cardinals were able to avoid a weekend sweep by defeating the Chicago Cubs in the middle game of their three-game series at Wrigley Field, but the two games they lost came at a 22-3 margin. The Cubs thoroughly outplayed their rival, largely due to St. Louis' lackluster starting pitching. John Mozeliak has an obvious rotation fix that'd help the team in the short term and long term, but he's going out of his way to make excuses rather than make that move.
The obvious move would be parting with one of Erick Fedde or Miles Mikolas, both of whom got shelled in Chicago and have had rough seasons, and replacing them with young righty Michael McGreevy, a pitcher who Mozeliak deemed a "deserving young man."
But here's what Mozeliak had to say when it came to his unwillingness to hand McGreevy a full-time rotation spot right now.
“Right now, we’re just not confident with what’s behind McGreevy to pull up,” Mozeliak said, referring to the lack of pitching depth available in Triple A. “As we navigate the next three to four weeks, certainly there are going to be opportunities to get Michael up here at some point. Worst-case scenario for him, there is a clear path for him sometime in August.
Yes, you read that right. Mozeliak is saying he can't give McGreevy the rotation spot he so clearly deserves because the depth behind him is not what they want. Really?
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John Mozeliak is going out of his way to make the Cardinals worse
Is he wrong about the depth? No, not really. The Cardinals have nobody else with whom they should feel comfortable in the Majors, and with that in mind, it made sense to keep McGreevy down in April or even May. Now, though, with the season past its halfway point and the Cardinals fighting to stay in the postseason race, what's the rationale behind holding McGreevy back?
McGreevy has made eight appearances and six starts over the past two seasons, and just about every time he's taken the mound, he's shown he belongs. In addition, things have gone incredibly sideways for both Mikolas and especially Fedde.
Rather than say McGreevy isn't ready or the Cardinals have no room for him in the Majors, Mozeliak pulled out this excuse? Depth might be a concern after McGreevy, but who cares? Sure, this move would put the Cardinals in a rough spot if there's a pitching injury, but it's not as if any of their depth options can perform much worse than Mikolas and Fedde have.
It feels like Mozeliak knows that the right thing to do is promote McGreevy, but is too unwilling to admit defeat on either of his veterans.
Necessary rotation shift would help the Cardinals now and in the future
With the trade deadline less than a month away, we don't know whether the Cardinals plan on being buyers or sellers. What we do know is that regardless of the direction they go in, replacing Mikolas or Fedde with McGreevy would help.
Mikolas had a decent stretch in May when he was productive, but overall, he has a 5.26 ERA in 17 starts. Fedde has a 4.79 ERA in 16 starts, and he appears to struggle more each time he takes the mound. What's most alarming is that the Cardinals have gone a combined 13-22 in their starts. They've gone 5-13 with Fedde speifically on the mound. These starters are not helping the team win now, so what's the point of continuing to use them?
It's not as if either starter will be back next season. Both are over the age of 30, and both are free agents after the year. McGreevy, on the other hand, is a 24-year-old who, again, has shown he belongs even while not getting consistent opportunities (and is currently pitching very well in Triple-A). McGreevy is a pitcher the Cardinals can realistically point to as part of their future plans, in addition to believing he can help now. The veteran duo of Mikolas and Fedde doesn't help the Cardinals in either direction.
The longer Mozeliak waits to make this move, the worse off the Cardinals will be. Hopefully, given that he has no real reason to continue to hold McGreevy back, the Cardinals change things up sooner rather than later.