Cardinals Sign LHP Steven Matz
John Mozeliak sure didn’t read my post yesterday where I mentioned I hope the starter we signed was not Steven Matz.
For those that hadn’t heard, late last night, news broke that the Cardinals had signed LHP Steven Matz to a 4 year deal worth $44M, that could reach $48M with incentives. The Cardinals do not have to surrender a draft pick because Matz was not offered a Qualifying Offer by the Blue Jays.
I am warming up to the move. He had not been able to stay healthy with the Mets. In the years he has made more than 25 starts, has he a 4.05 ERA. While that’s not out of this world, that’s slightly better than average. His ground ball rate is in the upper echelon of pitchers. Pitching in a more pitcher friendly ballpark of Busch Stadium, combined with the Cardinals defense, should help him out quite a bit
I‘m not saying he will win the Cy Young in 2022, but I will say I think he will be better than what people think, and will be a very reliable #3 starter behind Flaherty and Wainwright.
Here is where the rotation stands after bringing in Matz:
1. Jack Flaherty
2. Adam Wainwright
3. Steven Matz
4. Dakota Hudson
5. Miles Mikolas
By adding Matz, it solidifies a questionable rotation. Health was a huge factor in 2021 for the Cardinals rotation. Adam Wainwright was the only one to start more than 25 games. Flaherty started 15, Mikolas started 9, Hudson started 1. The Cardinals needed to go out and get a starter, and that’s what they did.
Where do they go from here? With the money saved from not signing a guy like Max Scherzer or Marcus Stroman, they can now address shortstop if they choose to do so. That could mean taking a closer look at Trevor Story and Corey Seager. I’m not sure if they will actually go out and get one, but as I said yesterday, we are in line for an exciting offseason.