Cardinals Could Have Solution In Red-Hot 25-Year-Old Pitcher

Opening Day is just one week away now after a long few months

Jul 12, 2020; St. Louis, Missouri, United States; A view of empty seats as the St. Louis Cardinals play a simulated game at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images / Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals had one of the best bullpens in baseball in 2024.

After a disastrous 2023 season, the Cardinals made key additions to the bullpen, like Andrew Kittredge, and finished with the sixth-best bullpen ERA last year at 3.64. In comparison, the Cardinals had the 23rd-ranked bullpen in 2023 at 4.47.

The bullpen was a strength last year and is one of the biggest reasons why the club finished about .500 at 83-79. Kittredge isn't with the team this season but the club did make a really good move to try to replace him with Phil Maton.

Another guy who could be a solution for the club in the bullpen in 2025 is 25-year-old lefty Matthew Liberatore. He can pitch. So far in Spring Training, he has a 1.42 ERA across five outings. He's struck out seven batters in 12 2/3 innings pitched.

There's been some chatter about his role for the 2025 season. Will he be in the bullpen or the starting rotation? At this point, the Cardinals should put in him in bullpen and stop altering his role. In 2023, he appeared in 22 overall games -- 11 of which we out of the bullpen. Last year, he appeared in 60 games, including six starts.

The Cardinals had a beast of a bullpen. Liberatore was in it but still did see his role fluctuate at times. The Cardinals made a good move to bring Maton to town, but Liberatore could be a key to the bullpen. If the Cardinals could have Maton, Liberatore, and Helsley all ready to go, it would just make things easier on the starting rotation and maybe have one of the best bullpens in baseball again.

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