Cardinals $44M Starter Predicted To End Three-Year Stint With St. Louis

Will the Cardinals veteran return to St. Louis in 2025?

Mar 4, 2024; West Palm Beach, Florida, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Steven Matz (32) pitches in the third inning against the Washington Nationals at CACTI Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images / Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

It sounds like there are some big changes coming to the St. Louis Cardinals organization this winter.

St. Louis has already started to make decisions. The Cardinals declined club options on Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson. St. Louis also announced that All-Star Willson Contreras will be switching positions in 2025 from catcher to first base to replace Paul Goldschmidt.

There are a lot of moving parts in St. Louis and there surely will be even more once the trade market heats up. One player who was predicted to be on the move is veteran pitcher Steven Matz by FanSided's Thomas Gauvain.

"Steven Matz signed a 4-year, $44 million in 2021, and he's in the final year of that deal," Gauvain said. "Matz has fought injuries throughout his contract, and the most innings he pitched while wearing a Cardinal uniform came in 2023 when he threw 105 innings split between starting and relieving. Matz's $12.5 million price tag for 2025 is manageable for most teams, and he provides value as a swingman; his relief numbers have actually been better than his numbers as a starter these past three seasons.

"The number of teams looking for a left-handed veteran pitcher who can be either a starter or a reliever won't be short this winter, and the Cardinals could benefit from this market interest. Don't expect a top-100 prospect in exchange for Steven Matz, but the return won't be paltry by any means still."

Matz has spent the last three seasons with the Cardinals, but it wouldn't be shocking if his time with the team came to an end this winter.

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