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While coming up through the minor leagues as a starter, Cardinals lefty Matthew Liberatore was no stranger to a full season’s workload as a full-time starting pitcher.

In years past, Liberatore has surpassed 100 innings of work in three different minor league seasons and reached as high as 149 2/3 innings in a regular season, that latter of which came in 2022 when he made starts in Class AAA and in the majors. But this season, one in which the 25-year-old lefty has had his first full run as a starter in the majors after working from the bullpen in 2024, has led to some “adapting and adjusting.”

“My body is not as conditioned as it was previously to this kind of workload,” said Liberatore, who reached 100 1/3 before the All-Star break arrived. “… This is also the highest level I’ve ever had this kind of workload at. There are stresses and things that I haven’t dealt with before, but I’ve really tried to see that as an opportunity to learn about myself and to grow.”

Following conversations with Cardinals coaches and the team’s pitching staff that weighed Liberatore’s previous workloads and what would be best for Liberatore’s health and team success, Liberatore had his first start of the second half pushed to help manage his innings. He’ll get his second-half start Saturday against the Padres after a stretch that has allowed him to feel “rejuvenated” as well as mentally “reset.”

“As much as it was meant to be a physical reset, I felt like I got a chance to kind of reset my mind and recommit to some of the principles that I like to identify with when I’m on the mound and pitching,” Liberatore said on Friday while seated inside the Cardinals’ dugout at Busch Stadium.

Liberatore’s 100 1/3 innings over 18 starts tied him with Andre Pallante for second most among Cardinals pitchers when the All-Star break arrived. That body of work was 14 1/3 innings more than Liberatore tossed over 60 bullpen outings the year prior.

Amid the gap in starts, the left-hander threw an extended bullpen on Monday while the Cardinals were in Colorado that was a simulated game intended to replicate three innings of work, Post-Dispatch reporter Derrick Goold reported. Liberatore was set to mimic a regular five-day break after that included a bullpen days later.

“I feel really good. I think I’m in a really good spot right now, and I couldn’t be more excited to take the ball tomorrow,” Liberatore said.

Liberatore said the Cardinals did not place an innings “ceiling” or “floor” with his workload. His body of work in 2024 provided some further understanding of how his body could respond to his workload.

Liberatore made 54 of his 60 appearances in 2024 out of the bullpen after starting 18 of his first 31 games in the majors since he debuted in 2022. Liberatore’s background as a starter provided Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol with a bullpen piece who could provide multiple innings.

The lefty’s ability to bounce back efficiently following appearances helped him make 11 starts on no days rest, 17 on one day rest, and 10 with two days of rest in between outings. He sported a 4.40 ERA for the season and a 3.69 ERA when appearing from the bullpen.

Liberatore made five of his six appearances during spring training out of the bullpen but logged multiple innings each time out. He worked as high as four innings in a start during his last Grapefruit League appearance before being named the fifth starter in the Cardinals’ opening day rotation.

“It’s kind of one of those things (where) you spent a year in the bullpen last year, but you threw a lot of innings, so let’s go out and compete and see how you respond, and then we’ll make adjustments as we need to,” Liberatore said. “That’s kind of how we’ve handled it and I think that that’s probably the right way of going about it.”

Marmol reaches win No. 300

The Cardinals’ series-opening win over the Padres on Thursday marked the 300th victory of manager Oliver Marmol’s career. With the win, Marmol ranks 13th in franchise history among Cardinals managers.

Marmol has led the Cardinals since the start of the 2022 season after rising through the Cardinals’ system as a minor league manager and coach before joining the big-league staff in 2017. His clubs have had a .508 winning percentage in 590 games the 39-year-old skipper at the helm.

“I’m glad I’m able to do it here. I was just in the office,” Marmol said on Thursday night of his milestone win. “Someone else brought it up. The one thing I think about is that I like doing it with this group. I really do. We have a young core with some veterans sprinkled in. I like being able to go out there every day and compete with them. I’m glad we were able to do it today, but that’s what comes to mind when I think of that.”

Thompson checks-in

Left-hander Zack Thompson was at Busch Stadium Friday for a check-in with Cardinals doctors as he looks to begin a throwing program within the next “week or two.” Thompson (left lat strain) said he is still dealing with discomfort. He’s remained at the Cardinals’ training complex in Jupiter, Florida, while he’s gone through his rehab.

He’s gone through programs to build strength in his shoulder after having been sidelined since early March, but has not thrown recently. He said the goal is to “get back on a mountain as quick as possible.”

ӣ����Ƶ Cardinals

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Before the Cardinals took the lead they did not let go of Friday night against the Padres, the manner in which their first runner reached base stirred some emotion between the two clubs in the thick of the National League Wild Card race.

Facing Padres starter Nick Pivetta, Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras was hit on the left elbow by a fastball from Pivetta to lead off the second inning. The hit by pitch was followed by an exchange of words between Contreras and Pivetta and the emptying of both dugouts and bullpens.

“Nothing. I think it was just part of the game,” Contreras said of the exchange. “A couple of words were exchanged there. Nothing major. I think when the benches clear, it makes everything worse. I don’t think it was that bad. He’s a competitor. I’m a competitor. We exchanged words. That was it.”

Once the field cleared and Contreras reached base, the Cardinals capitalized on their first opportunity to hit with a runner on base as Contreras advanced to third later that inning and scored on Yohel Pozo’s groundout for the game’s first run. The lead widened when Masyn Winn produced two runs on a double in the fourth inning and was held steady as Cardinals pitchers, led by starter Miles Mikolas’ five-plus innings, shut out the Padres for a 3-0 win at Busch Stadium.

The result secured back-to-back wins for the Cardinals (54-51) for the first time since they swept the Guardians in a three-game series during the final weekend of June and kept them climbing up the NL Wild Card standings. The Cardinals ended Friday trailing the Padres by 1.5 games for the third NL Wild Card spot with two more games left vs. the Padres this weekend and three scheduled in San Diego to kick off August after the July 31 trade deadline passes.

“They’re ahead of us. We’re chasing them. We need every game,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said.

The Cardinals received scoreless relief work from four relievers, an effort capped by Ryan Helsley’s 21st save of the year, in a shutout that marked their 11th of the season. Mikolas received a timely double play in the fourth inning that included an outfield assist from right fielder Jordan Walker that capitalized on Xander Bogaerts’ poor read in his attempt to tag up from first base to second base on a fly out. The Cardinals turned a second double play in the sixth inning on a comeback grounder left-hander Steven Matz reached across his body to snag before throwing to Winn, who covered second base, to nab the lead runner in an at-bat that began with runners at first and second base.

The shutout after allowing 11 hits marked the first time in over 80 years the Cardinals kept an opponent scoreless despite giving up 11 or more hits. The last such effort came against the Boston Braves on August 24, 1943.

“We definitely dodged it,” Marmol said of the traffic his pitching staff navigated on Friday. “We did a nice job of it. ... They scattered some hits, but (Mikolas) had everything working. He mixed it. Kept them off balance. We made some nice plays as well in the outfield, but overall solid.”

A day after scoring nine runs on 12 hits to claim a series-opening win, the Cardinals pushed across three runs on three hits, two walks, and a hit by pitch from Pivetta. The hit by pitch gave the Cardinals their first base runner and was Contreras’ NL-leading 15th hit by pitch of this season.

It drew some frustration after Contreras was hit twice in a span of three games vs. San Diego in April of last season.

“I’m not trying to get any fractures, because last year we played them, and they took me out for a week,” said Contreras, who dealt with a bone bruise in his left hand last season when Padres starter Joe Musgrove hit him with a pitch. “This year is nothing different. None of them are going to feel sorry if I get a broken hand or a broken finger. None of them. ... That’s why I take an exception of that.”

When Contreras began removing his elbow guard and walked down to first base following Pivetta’s inside pitch, he appeared to respond to comments from the righty. Padres catcher Elias Diaz stepped in front of Contreras and walked with him as Contreras continued to exchange words with the Padres starter.

“I know what he said. But nothing, it was just that,” Contreras said.

“I think (Contreras) thinks that he owns a certain part of the plate,” Pivetta said to reporters. “I mean, it’s a fastball, and I don’t hit very many guys. For him to, like, stare at me and try, at least I feel from my side, he’s trying to intimidate me into trying to do stuff. That’s the player that he is. Doesn’t mean that he’s a bad player. He’s a great player. He does play baseball very well, but I’m not going to back down. I’m going to go out and do my thing.”

“I’m going to control the inside part of the plate, which I have been doing,” Pivetta continued. “I hit him on the elbow guard. I mean, I haven’t gone back and looked at it, but I could probably guess that he was probably diving over the plate a little bit.”

Warnings were issued to both sides. There were no ejections and no further escalations from the hit by pitch through the rest of Friday’s game.

“We exchanged words. He was competing. I hate getting hit. I’m a competitor,” Contreras said. “Thankfully, that (situation) dies right there.”

ӣ����Ƶ Cardinals

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A fresh set of MLB Pipeline's Top 100 prospects released Thursday, and four Cardinals made the list. 

JJ Wetherholt checked in at No. 16, while Quinn Mathews ranked No. 54. Leonardo Bernal slotted in at No. 79, and Rainiel Rodriguez is 10 spots further down at No. 89. 

The three hitters in that group — Wetherholt, Bernal and Rodriguez — each had notable performances over the past week. But they were far from the only ones with shiny highlights in recent games. 

Updates on top 10 prospects

JJ Wetherholt, SS, Class AAA Memphis: Wetherholt has put together some sizzling offensive performances lately. On July 18, he collected four hits against Toledo. On Tuesday, he hit a solo home run in the series opener against Gwinnett, and his encore the next day featured a pair of solo home runs. In the month of July, Wetherholt is slashing .327/.421/.816 with a 1.237 OPS. His six home runs since July 1 are one more than he hit in April, May and June combined. 

Quinn Mathews, LHP, Class AAA Memphis: On Sunday, Mathews picked up a loss against Toledo. Despite logging seven strikeouts in just 3 2/3 innings pitched, Mathews gave up three hits, two earned runs and five walks. It marked his fourth outing of the season with at least five walks.

Leonardo Bernal, C, Class AA Springfield: Entering Thursday, Bernal had a 10-game hit streak. It was snapped when Bernal was ejected in the bottom of the first inning against Tulsa for arguing a ball call. In his only at-bat in the top of the first, Bernal grounded into an inning-ending double play. 

Rainiel Rodriguez, C, Low-A Palm Beach: Rodriguez hit an impressive home run Thursday against Jupiter, taking a pitch above his shoulders over the fence in left field. Entering Friday, Rodriguez is slashing .268/.415/.610 in July, and each of those numbers are vastly improved from June. Seven of his 11 hits this month have gone for extra bases. 

Jimmy Crooks, C, Class AAA Memphis: Crooks had a 13-game hit streak snapped July 18, but he bounced back by collecting four hits over his next two appearances, all of which were singles. 

Tekoah Roby, RHP, Class AAA Memphis: After allowing just two earned runs and tallying 21 strikeouts over his last four starts (which spanned 21 innings), the right-hander was placed on the 7-day injured list July 15. No specifics were given on what landed him on the IL. 

Tink Hence, RHP, Class AA Springfield: Hence hasn't pitched since July 3. He was placed on the 7-day IL on July 12. 

Yairo Padilla, SS, FCL Cardinals: Hasn't played since July 5. 

Joshua Baez, Class AA Springfield: After going 1 of 10 against Wichita and 0 of 3 in the series opener against Tulsa, he hit an opposite-field home run Wednesday and had two hits Thursday.

Cooper Hjerpe, Class AA Springfield: Hasn't appeared in a game in 2025. 

Other standouts

Matt Koperniak (Class AAA Memphis) had quite a day on Thursday. After hitting a solo home run Wednesday, Koperniak hit two round trippers Thursday along with a double. 

Aaron Wilkerson (Class AAA Memphis) pitched eight shutout innings in his Memphis debut Wednesday, giving up just four hits. 

Nathan Church (Class AAA Memphis) had a productive three-game series against Toledo, registering four hits and three RBI. That included a two-run home run in the first game of a doubleheader Sunday. 

Brycen Mautz (Class AA Springfield) struck out eight batters while allowing just one earned run in four innings pitched Tuesday. 

Pete Hansen (Class AA Springfield) pitched a shutout over 6 1/3 innings Thursday. He allowed just four hits while striking out six batters.

Mlb

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With the Cardinals looking to make up ground in the NL Wild Card standings as the calendar nears the end of July and creeps closer to the July 31 trade deadline, a shutout effort started by Miles Mikolas and RBIs from Yohel Pozo and Masyn Winn helped them inch upward in the standings on Friday night.

Playing host to Padres, the Cardinals received five-plus scoreless innings from starter Mikolas, an RBI from Pozo in the third inning to provide a lead, and two RBIs on fourth inning double by Winn to pad it in their 3-0 win over San Diego at Busch Stadium.

The win put the Cardinals (54-51) 1 1/2 games behind the Padres for the final wild card spot in the National League.

Hit for two homers and four runs across his four inning against Arizona on Sunday, Mikolas’s outing marked his fifth scoreless outing of five more innings this season. Mikolas logged five-plus innings as he worked around seven hits and did not issue a walk to the 21 batters he faced before his exit.

Mikolas (6-7) recorded five outs on groundballs and five on flyouts. He worked around traffic in the third inning when hits by Elias Diaz and Fernando Tatis Jr. put runners on second and third base. He did so again in the fourth inning when a double play started by right fielder Jordan Walker helped the veteran starter escape an inning that began with back-to-back hits by Jackson Merrill and Xander Bogaerts.

Mikolas left his start with a runner on first base after a single from Manny Machado opened the sixth inning and after he threw 73 pitches — 52 of which were strikes.

The five-plus innings set the Cardinals up to roll out their core of high-leverage arms to notch a second consecutive win.

Steven Matz, Phil Maton, and JoJo Romero each notched holds with scoreless innings of relief apiece as they bridged to closer Ryan Helsley. Helsley, who along with Maton and Romero were pitching on back-to-back days, secured his 21st save of the season with outing.

Pozo produced the first of the Cardinals’ three runs on a groundout in the third inning that allowed Willson Contreras to score from third base. Winn’s double came with no outs in the fourth inning and plated Contreras and Nolan Arenado after they drew back-to-back one out walks.

Turning two on the Friars

When the Padres threated to score against Mikolas and Matz, double plays helped the two Cardinals keep San Diego out of the runs column.

For Mikolas, the timely double play he received came in the fourth inning and included an outfield assist from Walker.

Facing Gavin Sheets with Merrill and Bogaerts on first and second base after the two collected back-to-back singles, Mikolas got Sheets to hit a fly ball to right field. The fly ball to Walker was deep enough or Merrill to successfully tag up to third base, but not deep enough for Bogaerts to move up an extra bag as a bad read on Walker’s throw led Bogaerts to be tagged out with ease.

Working with a runner on third base and two outs, Mikolas got ahead of Jake Cronenworth 1-2 with a sinker for a called strike and with fastball placed away that Cronenworth fouled off. The at-bat was capped with a slider that broke in on Cronenworth and got him to whiff for an inning-ending strikeout.

The first Cardinal out of the bullpen on Friday after Mikolas allowed a leadoff single to Manny Machado to begin the sixth inning, Matz’s timely double play started with a snag he made on a comebacker from Sheets.

After he recorded a lineout of Merrill and allowed runners to reach first and second base when Bogaerts singled, Matz’s 0-2 curveball to Sheets was sharply hit to his arm side. The lefty reliever made a backhanded grab and made an accurate throw to shortstop Winn to begin an inning-ending double.

A bit of banter

An 0-1 fastball from starter Nick Pivetta that hit Contreras on the left elbow led the Cardinals’ and Padres’ benches and bullpen to empty after words were exchanged by Contreras and Pivetta.

Contreras, who entered Friday tied for first in the majors with 14 hit by pitches, tossed his bat and began taking off his elbow guard and began to walk down the first base line when Pivetta began walking towards Contreras. Contreras and Pivetta exchanged to Pivetta as he walked down the line and Padres catcher Elias Diaz stepped in front of Contreras.

Contreras continued to walk to exchange words with Pivetta as he walked to first base, the Cardinals and Padres dugouts bullpens emptied onto the field. Players and coaches returned to the dugout shortly after the infield crowded with Padres and Cardinals.

The benches-clearing moment did not result in any ejections.

Mikolas shows added zip

Entering Friday with an ERA above 5.00 through 19 starts this year, Mikolas got just one whiff on the 73 pitches he threw but had some extra life on his repertoire.

The 36-year-old righty’s average fastball velocity on the night was 2.2 mph higher than its yearly average, per Statcast. The velocity of his slider averaged 90 mph, a 2.8 mph increased for its yearly average, and peaked at 92.4 mph.

Mikolas’ added velocity on his repertoire showed late into his outing as he used a 95.6 mph sinker and a 96.2 mph fastball to help him strikeout Cronenworth in the fourth inning and flashed a 91.5 mph slider in the fifth inning to help him retire Luis Arraez on a flyout to end the fifth inning with Tatis stranded at second base.

ӣ����Ƶ Cardinals

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Jeff Gordon

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Photos: ӣ����Ƶ Cardinals win 3-0 as they get the first two of four against the San Diego Padres

The following article is an excerpt from today's Write Fielder, a weekly newsletter from the Post-Dispatch that delivers behind the seams stories and builds upon the baseball coverage available here at and brings it directly to your inbox every Friday morning.

If you wish to subscribe after reading this sample, please do so here to receive next week's complete edition.

***

In the past two seasons, the Cardinals traded a player at the deadline that went on to contribute to a World Series championship, putting John Mozeliak on the opposite side of a deadline deal likely to help define his tenure atop baseball operations.

In 2023, the Cardinals flipped two players they got a year earlier at the deadline to Texas, and lefty Jordan Montgomery helped drive the Rangers to their first championship a few months later. A year ago, at the 2024 trade deadline, the Cardinals sent Tommy Edman to the Los Angeles Dodgers as part of a three-team trade. Edman won the National League Championship Series MVP on his way to a ring with the Dodgers and a lucrative extension.

Take note interested clubs.

The Cardinals could pull off a hat trick as trade deadline kingmaker.

Trading for players to boost a postseason run – not trading away those players – used to be the annual goal of the Cardinals, and as Mozeliak reaches his final trade deadline as the club’s president of baseball operations selling seems most likely. It’s not the approach they wanted, but it is the approach they advertised and expected.

While the coverage in the newspaper focuses on what’s ahead for the Cardinals – dealing veteran relievers, listening on a few young players – the newsletter takes a look back at Mozeliak’s previous 17 trade deadlines at the helm of baseball operations. There were salary swaps (like 2017, 2019) and stand pats (like 2009, 2013!, 2020). I looked at the players moved out and the players brought in, and what Wins Above Replacement (WAR) they added to their new team or the Cardinals, respectively.

An example: Edman provided the Dodgers a 2.1 WAR so far, and the Cardinals got a 0.8 WAR from Erick Fedde before cutting him this past week. Tommy Pham was also in the deal and was a minus-0.4 WAR with the Cardinals to yield a minus-1.7 WAR deal.

The metric isn’t foolproof – relievers tend to lag – but it helps map the highs and lows and plenty of huhs from past deadline days for the Cardinals and how they’ve done in the Mozeliak era.

The Headliner

In 2009, after they got off the charter train from D.C. in Philadelphia, Mark DeRosa texted teammate Skip Schumaker that he was “the appetizer.” Acquired by the Cardinals a few weeks early, DeRosa was referencing a trade more than a year in the making. The Cardinals, near the deadline, acquired Matt Holliday. Mozeliak landed his future Cardinals Hall of Famer and one of the most lopsided deals in Cardinals’ history.

The Cardinals sent RHP Clayton Mortensen, 3B Brett Wallace, and OF Shane Peterson to Oakland for Holliday. That trio combined for a minus-0.9 WAR and little return for their teams. (Although, Mortensen was once traded for Marco Scutaro before he and Holliday would collide in October.) Holliday gave the Cardinals their cleanup hitter and a 2.3 WAR that season. He re-signed as a free agent the next winter and finished with a 23.0 WAR and a red jacket.

• Plus-3.1 WAR deal, but eventually a plus-23.9 WAR acquisition.

The Win-Wins

At the 2017 deadline, the Cardinals traded LHP Marco Gonzales to Seattle for OF Tyler O’Neill. Gonzales would provided the Mariners 8.4 WAR and a reliable starter, and though his time with the Cardinals was interrupted by injuries, O’Neill had a standout year and 10.1 WAR. In the end, not the high upside either team hoped, but the trade yielded contributions on both side.

At the 2018 deadline, the Cardinals sought a lefty reliever and dealt 1B Luke Voit to the Yankees to get LHP Chasen Shreve along with a right-hander Giovanny Gallegos. The deal proved to be more equal than either team projected. Gallegos, a 4.4 WAR reliever for the Cardinals, helped balance Voit’s breakout year and 4.8 WAR total in pinstripes.

At the 2022 deadline, the Cardinals sought a lefty reliever – is there an echo in here? – and dealt backup infielder Edmundo Sosa to Philadelphia for JoJo Romero. After his key outing in Thursday’s win, Romero has a 2.7 WAR for the Cardinals. Sosa has a 4.7 WAR, and he got to the World Series with the Phillies, giving the Cardinals three consecutive deadlines where they’ve moved a player who won a pennant.

• Minus-0.2 WAR on Gallegos deal. Plus-1.7 WAR on O'Neill, and minus-2.0 WAR on Romero, though TBD still.

The Flops

The Cardinals’ ability to deal outfielders who shine elsewhere is not limited to the winter or waivers. At the 2018 deadline, the Cardinals sold a little, bought a little, and tried to get a strong return on an outfielder without a spot, the aforementioned Pham. They traded him to Tampa Bay in return for OF Justin Williams, LHP Genesis Cabrera, and RHP Roel Ramirez. Pham went on to be a 6.4 WAR player and leave a minus-7.2 WAR gap in the deal.

At the 2021 deadline, a stark need for starters led the Cardinals to an unlikely deal for longtime rival Jon Lester. Even the lefty said the deal was possible because he didn’t have a no-trade clause. Cubs standout Lester got his 200th win with the Cardinals, and in return Washington got Lane Thomas, another outfielder squeezed out of the lineup by the Cardinals. Thomas was 6.4 WAR player for the Nats. Lester chipped in 0.1 WAR in his weeks as a Cardinal.

• Minus-6.3 WAR on Lester deal. Minus-7.2 WAR on Rays deal.

The Flips

The 2022 deadline was active for the Cardinals as they added their Game 1 starter for a playoff series, Jose Quintana, and in other deals Romero and Montgomery. It’s what happened a year later that puts a new look on the 2022 deadline. They flipped some of those same players for prospects that could tilt the look of these deals by next year.

The Cardinals acquired Montgomery from the Yankees for OF Harrison Bader. Montgomery was a 3.0 WAR for the Cardinals and Bader had 0.9 WAR for the Yankees. Stratton came with Quintana and gave the Cardinals a 0.5 WAR in exchange for a deal centered around RHP Johan Oviedo, who has given the Pirates 2.9 WAR.

In 2023, the Cardinals flipped Montgomery with Stratton to Texas for LHP John King, RHP Tekoah Roby, and INF Thomas Saggese. Montgomery gave the Rangers a 1.8 WAR before striking it rich as a champion. King has been a 1.1 WAR lefty so far for the Cardinals, and Roby is in Class AAA Memphis about to be one of the Cardinals top three pitching prospects.

• Plus-2.1 WAR on Montgomery deal with Yankees. Minus-0.7 WAR on Pirates deal. In fairness, TBD on Rangers deal.

The Tearjerker

At the 2014 deadline, two beloved members of the Cardinals clubhouse found out in awkward ways that they had been dealt to Boston for an irascible right-hander described as the “rusty nail” the team needed. There were tears in the clubhouse and manager Mike Matheny confessed to being emotional about the move. Considering John Lackey’s contract, the deal was nearly a masterstroke – if the Cardinals didn’t fall shy in the NLCS of a second consecutive.

The Cardinals sent 1B/OF Allen Craig and RHP Joe Kelly to the Red Sox for right-hander Lackey and the minimum salary he also had for 2015. Lackey was a 5.4 WAR pitcher for the Cardinals. Craig was never the same, and Kelly gave the Sox 2.5 WAR and helped win a World Series ring in 2018.

• Plus-4.3 WAR ... before Lackey vamoosed to Cubs for a ring.

The Weavers

Not to be confused with the pitching brothers – one of whom definitely served this same purpose for the Cardinals almost two decades ago – these are the moves that, like a rug, bring the whole room together.

In 2010, the Cardinals finally landed the groundball-guru that they had been coveting for awhile: Jake Westbrook. All it took was San Diego and Cleveland drawing them into a three-team deal that sent OF Ryan Ludwick to the Padres and brought Westbrook to the Cardinals. He was an influential starter for the Cardinals and part of three consecutive NLCS teams and two World Series clubs. Ludwick was a minus-0.6 WAR in San Diego to Westbrook’s 1.0 WAR in ӣ����Ƶ.

The big winner in the deal was Cleveland.

Cleveland got Cory Kluber, a 32.5 WAR pitcher during his time there, and – near as I can tell – the most impactful player by that metric involved in any of these deadline deals involving the Cardinals since 2008.

In 2012, the Cardinals needed a reliever for the seventh inning, and they acquired RHP Edward Mujica from the Marlins for 3B Zack Cox, a former first-round pick. Cox never reached the majors. Mujica reached the All-Star Game as the Cardinals closer and a 2.8 WAR reliever.

• Plus-2.8 WAR on Mujica addition, but much more, really. Plus-1.6 WAR on Westbrook add compared to Padres. 

The (Subtle) Blockbuster

If the Holliday deal was the most predictable, then the most stunning deal of Mozeliak’s tenure came in 2011. It included an outfielder who, like others, would go on to be the most productive player after the deal for his new team. But that’s forgotten to history because flags fly forever.

At the deadline in 2011, the Cardinals willingness to part with young, talented first-rounder Colby Rasmus became an eight-player swap with Toronto that included an assist from the Chicago White Sox. The Cardinals sent Rasmus, LHP Trever Miller, LHP Brian Tallet, and RHP P. J. Walters, to the Jays for RHP Octavio Dotel, LHP Marc Rzepczynski, RHP Edwin Jackson (via Sox), and OF Corey Patterson.

As a group, that foursome provided Cardinals 0.2 WAR.

Rasmus would bring Toronto 6.7 WAR.

That make the deal a net negative (minus-6.2 WAR for Cardinals).

But Dotel & Co. revitalized the Cardinals’ bullpen, Jon Jay took off in center, and the Cardinals put together a remarkable September that didn’t stop until they upset the Rangers for the 2011 World Series. That is the final say on a trade, regardless of WAR. Measure them in title rings.

Montgomery, 1.

Stratton, 1.

Edman, 1.

Kelly, 1.

Cardinals, 1.����

***

This week's newsletter also looks at the Cardinals' pitching depth after moving Michael McGreevy into the rotation, flips the script on a trusted statistic to consider pitchers and their un-quality starts, and also uses the Cardinals' draft approach to identify potential trade targets.

The Write Fielder drops every Friday morning around 9 a.m. ӣ����Ƶ time, and in addition to a lede story like the one above it includes exclusive interviews, deep dives into statistics, crowdsourcing suggestions for the experience at Busch Stadium, and even some travelogue or other personal tidbits from venturing around the majors on the baseball beat.

Join the growing group of subscribers here.

Cardinals' John Mozeliak talks trades as his run nears the end

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Deadline days vs. San Diego begin stretch to reveal if mile-high zero was Cardinals’ low point

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So far, so (largely) good with the Cardinals’ efforts to increase their television and streaming viewership levels.

The club has been experimenting this year with placing a handful of its locally produced games on over-the-air television after an absence of a decade and a half, and also is making all its local telecasts available for direct purchase via streaming for the first time.

The developments have led to significantly increased viewership and although the rise is not at blockbuster levels, an extreme bump seemed unlikely at a time of fan discontent with the team as evidenced by a significant downturn in home attendance even before the club’s recent slide.

The Cardinals have been using Gray Media-owned KMOV (Channel 4) and/or Matrix Midwest (Channel 32) to supplement their cable telecasts on FanDuel Sports Network, a simulcasting arrangement scheduled to encompass 10 games and perhaps one or two more late in the season depending on how many contests national outlets add for exclusive coverage (ESPN just picked their Aug. 10 home game against the Cubs for “Sunday Night Baseball”).

Through last week’s All-Star break, seven games had been shown in that package. But only four had been carried on KMOV, which has been on the air for seven decades and has a large following. Those also were shown on Matrix Midwest, which won’t reach its first anniversary for another month and has had miniscule viewership numbers according to audience-measuring firm Nielsen. Because KMOV is a CBS affiliate, it has limited pre-emptions of network programming so the three contests in the deal that it didn’t carry were shown over-the-air only on Matrix (in addition to the cable coverage).

Channel 4’s telecast of its four games were seen in an average of 4.5% of the market, according to Nielsen, but the Matrix figure was a measly 0.2%. It is evident that the over-the-air telecasts cannibalized cable viewership — the FDSN average rating for those contests was 2.8, compared to its season average of 4.2 at the break. But the combined audience for all three channels, 7.5% of the market, is a big increase over the cable-only average and is a figure that few shows attain in this era of significantly declining television viewership.

While that is a major crash from the 12.3 figure KSDK (Channel 5) drew for a series of Sunday afternoon games in 2010, the last time the Cards included over-the-air contests in their broadcasting deals, it is a highly respectable figure in the modern landscape.

For example: In 2010, Cards cablecasts drew a 9.5 rating. This year they were as mentioned at 4.2 when play resumed after the break, with viewership having risen each month. Also, the top-rated show nationally for the television season that ended in the spring of 2010 was the Tuesday night version of “American Idol,” at 13.7. Topping the list for the season that ended last spring was “Sunday Night Football,” at 5.3.

Cardinals senior vice president of business operations Anuk Karunaratne said the club is pleased with the results from its return to free TV, at least on KMOV.

“I think it’s been what we would’ve hoped it would be,” he said. “The reason we were doing this was to increase reach, and from all of the information we’ve seen there’s clearly a lift — a significant lift — in viewership on those games.”

JD Sosnoff, general manager of both local Gray stations, embraces the results.

“I’m thrilled with having the Cardinals, and the response we’ve received from the viewers has been nothing but positive about their ability to access the games,” he said. “I think the biggest benefit is for viewers in the marketplace who now have the ability to watch games if they chose not to pay for a subscription service. ... It’s been a really good thing for the ӣ����Ƶ Cardinals as well.”

An additional aspect of the return to free TV is that the contests Gray is showing in ӣ����Ƶ also are available over the air in more than a dozen outlying markets across the Cardinals’ broadcast territory (mostly on Gray stations) in addition to appearing on cable.

“We’ve been really happy with that,” Karunaratne added. “We’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback from viewers who said they’re really glad to have that as an option.”

Karunaratne estimated that about as many people are watching the over-the-air telecasts outside of ӣ����Ƶ as in the market.

“That’s been really positive,” he said.

Sosnoff said he did not yet have exact market-by-market viewership figures in the hinterlands but said reaction has been strong.

“The Gray stations in the region are ecstatic about being able to offer that in their communities,” he said.

Matrix malaise

One definitive conclusion can be drawn from the Cards’ over-the-air test, and is backed by similar results for the Blues: According to Nielsen’s figures, Matrix Midwest simply isn’t ready to be a standalone over-the-air option for the major local teams.

The Blues also experimented with the Gray channels this year, the first time in 16 seasons they had over-the-air television in their local broadcast lineup, and are considering more such telecasts for the coming season. It was a small sample size last spring, just three games, and unlike the Cardinals they did not simulcast them on cable. KMOV aired two of the three contests in the package and averaged a 4.4 rating (compared to the season-long cable average of 2.5). Matrix had one to itself, which drew just 1% of the market, and when both stations had the telecasts that Matrix numbers were microscopic 0.2 and 0.1.

With the Cardinals, Matrix as mentioned averaged just 0.4% of the market when it shared games with KMOV and the cable station. That rose to just 0.5% when Matrix was the only free TV option, a miserable showing. Things have been so dismal that Nielsen reports Matrix had a 0.03 rating (less that 0.1% of the market watching, which rounds to a 0 rating) for the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 6 it shared with the other channels. Nielsen’s figures say that in one 15-minute segment of the telecast, 46,488 people were watching on cable, 45,742 on KMOV and 104 on Matrix.

Sosnoff, the GM of the local Gray stations, has taken exception before with the Nielsen figures and said that another service he uses has higher numbers for Matrix’s games. But Nielsen remains the industry standard and its Matrix ratings are extremely low despite the station continuing to add sports content in its effort to transition from showing mostly old TV shows to becoming a destination for athletics-oriented material, the most high profile being these Cardinals and Blues live games.

“If it works out, I think it will be just good for our region in general to have more dedicated sports programming,” Karunaratne said. “That’s part of the reason why we did it, and it takes time to build equity in that.”

But the Nielsen numbers say Matrix remains unfamiliar — or unknown — to many despite it being widely available, so time could be short for it to prove it’s a viable sole over-the-air option.

“What seems nondebatable is (viewership) it is significantly lower when it’s just on Matrix,” he said. “So that’s not helping us achieve our goal, which is more reach. ... In the long run we would like to see those numbers come up for it to make sense for those games to just be on Matrix.”

Cards direct streaming

Another key component of the Cardinals’ strategy in trying to gain exposure throughout their geographic broadcast territory is to sell the telecasts directly to fans via streaming, something the Blues have done for the past three seasons before the Cards began doing so this year. Previously, a subscription to a program distributor that carried the team’s cable network was required to stream the telecasts.

FanDuel Sports Network said that through the All-Star break more than 131,000 separate customers have watched at least part of one game through the app. That’s a 238% increase over the same point last year, with a peak of 51,000 streamers for a contest June 3 against Kansas City. However, the company is not releasing the average number of streamers per game. The figures include viewers throughout the region, not just in the ӣ����Ƶ area.

“It is a significant number in relation to the number of people that are watching on TV,” the Cardinals’ Karunaratne said of the streaming figures while emphasizing the importance of the entire region, not just the immediate area, to the club. “That’s been really positive.”

A free month of the streaming coverage is being offered for new customers who pay for a month of service by registering at then using the code CardsBOGO at checkout. The deal runs through the end of July.

The bottom line

The Cardinals’ TV and streaming moves have combined to help the club attain a goal. While the cable viewership rating is unchanged for the same point last year, the increase with streaming plus the addition of over-the-air games has created an overall audience rise.

“We wanted to make a significant impact on reach,” Karunaratne said. “Our approach to doing that was to create more options for people to be able to access the games, and we’ve seen really good uptake on both of those (options). As we think about next season, we’ll keep thinking about ways we can continue enhanced that. And hopefully grow those numbers.”

He said the plan is for the direct-purchase option for streaming to return next season and added that while a “final decision” hasn’t been made about incorporating free TV into the local broadcast lineup then, “that is something we would like to continue.”

During a pregame meeting Thursday before facing the Padres at Busch Stadium, a Cardinals offense that was shut out Wednesday against the Rockies looked to begin their homestand by “trying to find a way to get going early.”

When struggles by Sonny Gray left the Cardinals in an early hole, the response their offense was looking for was provided and proved to be pivotal.

Trailing the Padres 2-0 after the top of the first inning, the Cardinals pushed across one run in the bottom half of the frame. They produced a six-run second inning that included a go-ahead three-run homer from Brendan Donovan and a second three-run homer from Willson Contreras off starter Yu Darvish. The six-run inning provided the Cardinals a lead their relievers held tight to protect in a 9-7 win over San Diego.

“I feel like we responded right there and had some big swings and some really good at-bats all down the line,” Donovan said.

The series-opening win kicked off a seven-game homestand at Busch Stadium that ends a day before Major League Baseball’s July 31 trade deadline. Thursday’s win moved the Cardinals to 2.5 games back of the final NL Wild Card spot held by the Padres, who they play six times in their next nine games, and comes after they began their second half with a 1-5 road trip that included stops in Arizona and Colorado.

“I think the most important day of a series is trying to win the first game of the series,” Donovan said. “We’re trying to be short-minded. Still evaluate and learn from this past road trip. Today was a good response out of the boys.”

The Cardinals’ offensive output included a run in the fourth inning on an RBI single from Ivan Herrera and another in the sixth on a solo homer to center field from Herrera that had a 111.5 mph exit velocity, per Statcast. The production responded to the seven runs Gray allowed over five innings during his start.

Relief work from JoJo Romero, who struck out four batters in 1 2/3 scoreless innings, Phil Maton, and closer Ryan Helsley helped secure the series-opening win and manager Oliver Marmol’s 300th win of his managerial career.

“We needed it, especially after they punched early,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “To answer back in the first and then to be able to do what we did in the second was extremely important, especially coming off that road trip, you wanted to come out a little stronger. We needed the offense to get going.”

Like Gray’s last start, the righty and the Cardinals fell into a hole after the first inning. Gray, who allowed three of a career-high nine runs in the first inning this past Saturday against the Diamondbacks, saw the Padres push across one run two batters into the game with a leadoff single from Fernando Tatis Jr. and a double from Luis Arraez. A one-out single from Jackson Merrill scored a second run before he could get five batters into his outing.

Between his previous two starts, Gray has allowed a combined five runs in the first inning. He’s surrendered four home runs, two of which came on Thursday from Tatis and Manny Machado, and has allowed 16 runs (14 earned) and 22 hits across 8 2/3 innings since the All-Star break.

“It hasn’t been good for me the last two outings,” Gray said. “I will say this time, rather than last time, there was not a bone in my body that was giving in or that was conceding. I did feel deep in my core that I was continuing to try to press the envelope. There wasn’t a give-in. ... It just didn’t really go my way.

“But I will continue to work through that and take the things that maybe have went well and then learn from the things that didn’t. I’m just thankful that the offense and the bullpen were able to pick me up the way that they did tonight.”

The offensive answers the Cardinals looked for after a disappointing performance in Colorado on Wednesday began with a leadoff single in the first inning from Donovan. A two-out double from Contreras later that inning was the second of 12 hits the Cardinals pieced together against San Diego. Contreras drove in the first of the nine runs that marked the Cardinals’ largest offensive output since scoring nine runs in a comeback win in Cleveland on June 28.

The Cardinals (53-51) were held to 17 runs over six games since the All-Star break heading into Thursday’s opener

“We didn’t miss mistakes. We made him (Darvish) work. I liked our approach today,” Marmol said. “Our focus was there, attention to detail was there, and overall execution was pretty darn high, but we didn’t let him get away with a whole lot.”

With a lead in hand and the Cardinals calling on their bullpen to hold it, the role Romero played provided stability and a seamless path to how the final two innings would be covered.

Inserted into the sixth inning with one out and runners on first and second base, Romero froze Merrill for a called third strike on a 2-2 sinker and induced an inning-ending groundout of Xander Bogaerts to strand the two runners he inherited from Riley O’Brien. Romero’s flexibility to return for a second inning resulted in a 13-pitch frame where the lefty struck out the side to set up Maton for the eighth inning and Helsley for a chance to notch his 20th save of the season.

“I think just covering that extra inning was huge,” Maton said. “In hindsight, those were the tying runs on base. Getting those guys out was a big situation but going back out there and punching the side, that’s huge from a momentum standpoint for us, but also just from a covering innings in a situation where me or somebody else would have to do a one plus to cover that, but he went out there, put his head down, did his job, and that was huge for us.

“That was a big reason why we won tonight.”

ӣ����Ƶ Cardinals

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The ӣ����Ƶ Cardinals beat the San Diego Padres 9-7 with hot bats from Donovan, Herrera

Despite the ghastly ending for pitcher Erick Fedde, who the Cardinals designated for assignment on Wednesday, the trade wasn’t an error for the club or outgoing president of baseball operations John Mozeliak.

Fedde’s tenure crashed to a halt like an anvil dropped from the top of the Gateway Arch. He didn’t push the rotation to a next level, but that was never why the Cardinals acquired him.

As much as Cardinals followers will want to believe they’ve moved into a new era with a new head of baseball operations coming aboard at the end of the season in Chaim Bloom, the Cardinals likely aren’t yet past the point of getting utility out of guys like Fedde.

Their pipeline hasn’t progressed so much that they can rely on internal options to fill their needs. Players like Fedde fill in gaps to bridge to their homegrown options. They’ll likely still need a few of the Feddes of the baseball world in the immediate future.

Whether you want to call him a placeholder, a stand-in or something else, Fedde bought them time. He helped them tread water for almost one year.

That was his larger purpose, helping the Cardinals rotation doggy paddle to this point.

Remember that at the time Fedde joined the club, Matthew Liberatore was pitching in relief and Andre Pallante had barely made his 10 starts after an early-season transition out of the bullpen that required a stint in the minors.

Fedde provided a serviceable, somewhat-experienced rotation option (he appeared in his 150th MLB game earlier this season) that allowed the Cardinals to maintain a deliberate and measured approach in developing their young starting pitching prospects — an area they’d fallen painfully short in recent years.

No amount of hoping, wishing, praying, foot stomping or pounding on the table you did would’ve changed the fact that the pitching prospects, aside from McGreevy, weren’t viable options for rotation to start this season.

Even Liberatore’s presence in the rotation came a bit out of nowhere at the end of spring training.

Forcing the matter with any one of the other minor-league starters at the start this season would have been reckless, and it could have set that pitcher back significantly.

Injuries definitely factored into the equation, eliminating options such as Zack Thompson and Drew Rom from every being in the conversation. That’s also the nature of pitching. An injury or two always wait around the corner.

So Fedde was necessary, especially since the Cardinals coffers were locked up pretty tight this winter. Lest we forget, the lone free-agent addition was Phil Maton.

In the final recap of Fedde’s Cardinals stint, he made 30 starts and posted a 4.69 ERA — slightly lower than Miles Mikolas’ ERA each of the past three seasons (5.07) — with a 5-15 record, 157 1/3 innings, a 1.39 WHIP, 6.2 strikeouts per 9 innings and 3.7 walks per 9 innings.

In fairness, the pitcher the Cardinals acquired prior to last summer’s trade deadline performed significantly better in the previous 21 starts with the Chicago White Sox in his return to MLB after a year in Korea.

That Fedde posted a 7-4 record with a 3.11 ERA, 8.0 strikeouts per 9 and 2.5 walks per 9 while pitching for a team that sent a historic bar for futility.

Fedde’s recent performance made him the subject of widespread angst, including that of Cardinals skipper Oli Marmol. Coupled with the fact he blocked Michael McGreevy from the rotation, that combination irreparably colored Fedde’s entire stint with the club.

Over his final five starts, Fedde made it through just 17 2/3 innings, posted a 13.25 ERA, walked more batters (11) than he struck out (eight) and gave up eight home runs. He gave up six runs or more in three of those starts, and the Cardinals lost each of his final five starts.

Certainly, ending Fedde’s tenure two starts earlier might have made a lot of people feel a little better. However, the impact would not have been earth shifting.

As for the price the Cardinals paid for Fedde, they traded away from an area of redundancy when they sent to the Los Angeles Dodgers. His primary positions — shortstop, second base, center field — were areas where the Cardinals had multiple options either at the big leagues or knocking at the door.

Not to mention, Edman never appeared in a game for the Cardinals last season due to a wrist injury.

Edman’s outstanding postseason performance doesn’t erase the fact that in 117 regular season games with the Dodgers (entering Thursday), he’s batted .230 with a .284 on-base percentage and a .404 slugging percentage with 17 home runs and nine stolen bases.

Going by the metric wins above replacement (WAR) as calculated by , Cardinals center fielder Victor Scott II, shortstop Masyn Winn and all-star second baseman Brendan Donovan have each, individually, been more valuable this season than Edman.

The Cardinals did not lose.

The other part of the Fedde deal included the Cardinals shipping a teenage Panamanian pitcher who, respectfully, even the most devoted Cardinals follower couldn’t identify if he sat down next to them at the ballpark (right-hander Oliver Gonzalez) to the Dodgers.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals also added veteran outfielder and right-handed hitter Tommy Pham to their lineup until they decided to cut him loose and allow him the chance to catch on with a team in playoff contention.

The lingering feeling of unhappiness about the Fedde trade for Cardinals fans isn’t because they made an awful deal. They didn’t.

That feeling is a result of the awful last few weeks for Fedde, and it’s because the deal also reflects the predicament the organization created by failing to produce internal starting pitching options.

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