Feb 26, 2021; Jupiter, Florida, USA; A general view of the St. Louis Cardinals logo on the stadium at Roger Dean Stadium during spring training workouts. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

Cardinals Won't Rush Arms To Major Leagues During Rebuild, Per Insider

Originally posted on St. Louis Cardinals on SI
By Curt Bishop | Last updated Aug 29, 2025 12:00 PM ET

The St. Louis Cardinals are struggling right now. They are 66-69 heading into a weekend series against the Cincinnati Reds, but are well out of postseason contention and don't exactly have a clear path back to contention in the near future. They are 17 games back in the National League Central and trail the New York Mets by 6 1/2 games in the Wild Card race. By all accounts, their postseason hopes for 2025 have been squashed.

They are finally entering a rebuild and will prioritize development over winning in 2026 as Chaim Bloom succeeds John Mozeliak as president of baseball operations. This could mean that certain players will be traded while other players get more opportunities to shine.

Lately, Andre Pallante has been struggling, and the Cardinals need to make a change. Katie Woo of The Athletic notes though that they won't rush arms such as Liam Doyle and Quinn Mathews to the Major Leagues, even with pitching options in the upper levels of the minor leagues thin.

Cardinals Won't Rush Pitching Prospects To MLB

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"Top pitching prospect Quinn Mathews has a 3.74 ERA in 18 games in Memphis this year, and 2025 first-round draft pick Liam Doyle projects to be a quick-riser through the organization’s minor-league system. But the Cardinals, especially under a new front office in Chaim Bloom and Rob Cerfolio, will not rush their top arms for the sake of need, not when developing internally remains a priority. The problem? Pitching depth, specifically in the upper levels of the farm system, is scarce," Woo wrote.

The Cardinals targeted lower-level prospects this year at the trade deadline when they shipped out Ryan Helsley, Phil Maton and Steven Matz. Upper-level arms could be what Bloom tries to target this offseason if he does indeed make trades.

The Cardinals need to have more pitching depth, as it is severely lacking at the moment. If they don't want to rush their arms to the Major Leagues, this is something they will need to look for in the offseason as they finally kick off their rebuild. This will likely be done via trade.

The Cardinals starting rotation has a bottom-10 ERA in all of baseball, so even if they trade Sonny Gray this winter, they'll need to find a way to replenish their supply of arms.

The immediate future looks bleak for St. Louis.

This article first appeared on St. Louis Cardinals on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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