Steven Matz DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

The Athletic's Katie Woo writes that the St. Louis Cardinals seem inclined to use left-handed veteran Steven Matz in the starting rotation to start the season. However, it's not a guarantee, especially is young pitchers Andre Pallante and Michael McGreevy continue their strong springs. The main thing is that Matz has been healthy in camp, and the Cardinals will get a better sense of how effective the 33-year-old southpaw will be over the final few weeks of Grapefruit League action. Barring a late-spring trade, Woo believes Matz will be on the Opening Day roster as a back-end starter. Matz has allowed just one run with three walks and three strikeouts in five innings over his two spring starts. Since Matz has mostly dealt with injuries the last couple of seasons, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him eventually moved to a long-relief role when St. Louis feels Pallante or McGreevy are ready.

According to Katie Woo of The Athletic, the St. Louis Cardinals are continuing to explore a potential trade for left-handed pitcher Steven Matz. Earlier this offseason, it was reported that the southpaw, along with Eric Fedde were drawing interest on the trade market. Woo said that with Sonny Gray and Miles Mikolas having no-trade clauses Matz would likely be moved in order to shed salary, especially if the team cannot find a suitor for Nolan Arenado. Woo noted that the team would prefer to hold Fedde until the trade deadline. Last season, Matz logged just 44 1/3 innings of work with a 5.08 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. Currently, he sits as the No.5 starter in rotation but if he were to be moved, then top prospect Quinn Mathews or Michael McGreevy would have a chance to open the season in the majors. Mathews held a strong 2.76 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP with 202 punchouts across 143 innings in his first minor league season.

According to Mark Feinsand, Bryan Hoch, and John Denton of MLB.com, St. Louis Cardinals starting pitchers Erick Fedde and Steven Matz are gaining interest on the trade market from several clubs such as the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Guardians. With the Cardinals looking to reshape their roster and shed payroll, moving these options could allow their younger starting pitchers to have more opportunities during the 2025 season. Fedde opened the 2024 season in Chicago but was dealt to the Cardinals at the trade deadline. Across 177 1/3 frames, the 31-year-old posted a 3.30 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. Matz has battled injuries over the past two seasons and pitched only 44 1/3 frames last summer and posted a 5.08 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. If the Cardinals were to move one of these arms, this could create a path for their top pitching prospects, Tink Hence and Quinn Mathews, to spend most of the 2025 summer in the big leagues.