Don’t forget about the bullpen, John Mozeliak

It’ll make or break your rotation choices.

I’d like to think John Mozeliak is a wise individual who spends Christmas Eve sipping hot chocolate and thinking about his to-do list. As we sit a week out from the holiday, St. Louis Cardinals fans can only hope that a bullpen addition is in the plans.

I don’t think there will be any more rotation moves, unless they can find a suitor for Steven Matz. As it is, Matz is in and Matthew Liberatore is the sixth man that becomes a multitasker. That last part doesn’t render the young gun useless; once upon a time, Adam Wainwright was a bullpen hand. Tony La Russa didn’t even think he’d work out. Liberatore can be a long relief/spot starter type who shows the team what he’s made of.

His infusion to the pen could lessen the need for a big arm to bolster the group, but the status and role for Liberatore hasn’t been set or discussed.

I like the JoJo Romero revival as much as any southpaw, but are we betting a season on it? Giovanny Gallegos has given the Cardinals some great seasons, but 2023 was his most human year yet. He was more hittable than he’s been in five years.

Ryan Helsley is an All Star closer when healthy, but that’s not a common thing these days. He missed three months of last season, putting up rock solid numbers in his 33 games. His career WHIP (average hits and runs allowed per nine innings) of 1.06 proves that he misses bats easily, but the consistency of being out and being effective is a goal right above Helsley.

Chris Stratton is gone. Drew Rom is hopefully not in. Nick Robertson is promising but also potentially hazardous. The bullpen can’t be full of the same what-ifs that lives with the rotation.

Miles Mikolas, Lance Lynn, and Kyle Gibson make the starts and collect innings… but they also cause a rise in blood pressure across the metropolitan area. The Cards need the Mikolas who put up 200 innings, which he has done the past two seasons. But they need the 2022 guy who had an ERA closer to 3 than 5.

Fans would like the Lynn from 2021-22, and not this year’s HR machine. The team must have bit down hard on the idea that Gibson could replicate his 2021 season. He can make 30 starts, but his batting average against was a rugged .270 and hits were easy to come by.

I’m not worried about Sonny Gray at all, and Matz has his own health issues to sort out so he can become a steady starter. He showed the ability is there with his weeks-long streak this past season before getting hurt. Can he be relied on? Unsure.

All of this punctuates the fact that the bullpen needs more reinforcement. Mozeliak said on KMOX that he liked how the bullpen stood. Either he’s bluffing, or Craig Berube punched him on the way out of town and it left a dent.

The rotation will need a sharp edge from the bullpen. The offense can’t carry the show. The pitching has to be there, and it can’t be the most blown saves in baseball again. The pen can’t waste so many leads.

Shoring up the backend stood as tall of a task as filling the rotation when the regular season ended. Let’s really hope he’s bluffing. It’s not even Christmas yet, Mozeliak. There are holiday movies to watch, and moves to be made. Find a short inning burst of strikeout pop, or acquire a 2-3 inning menace.

Get back to work.

Photo courtesy of Fox 2