4 Cardinals players who could be traded before Opening Day

2. Steven Matz could get traded under one circumstance

The Cardinals, in theory, have a full rotation thanks to the three moves they've made. Gray, Lynn, and Gibson join Miles Mikolas and Steven Matz in an old rotation full of pitchers who can throw a ton of innings. They won't be super high-quality with Gray's inning as an exception, but Mikolas, Lynn, and Gibson can all be penciled in for at least 180 innings pitched in 2024.

Matz is a pitcher who has had his ups and downs throughout his MLB career. He came up with the Mets with star expectations tied to him. He never quite lived up to those, but he's had a couple of strong seasons in his nine-year MLB career. His season in Toronto led to him getting a four-year deal with the Cardinals. It's safe to say that deal hasn't gone quite as well as the Cardinals had hoped.

Matz had a miserable season in 2022, posting an ERA approaching 6.00 and missing much of it due to injury. This past season Matz missed time on the IL as well, and looked like he was going to have another miserable year. He was moved to the bullpen in May, sticking there for a month, before moving back to the rotation.

The southpaw finished strong, posting a 1.86 ERA in his last seven starts. That got his trade value up enough to where some teams might have some sort of interest. The Cardinals won't shop him around right now, but if they plan on adding another starting pitcher (they really should) then Matz is the easiest one to trade away. He's making a very affordable $12 million this season and next, which in this market could be a bargain if Matz takes his hot finish into the 2024 season.