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As the St. Louis Cardinals prepare to fill out their roster for the 2024 season, they are working to finalize their pitching staff. A hamstring injury to scheduled opening-day starter Sonny Gray sent a ripple effect throughout the entire squad, with manager Oliver Marmol scrambling to find a short-term replacement for his ace.
Enter Zack Thompson, a lefthander who has been both a starter and reliever at the big league level. He’ll be asked to take over Gray’s spot in the rotation, although he won’t take the ball against the Los Angeles Dodgers on March 28. That honor will fall now to veteran righthander Miles Mikolas.
For the right to fill the void in the rotation, however, Thompson beat out a fellow starter/reliever who has been in the Cards’ organization since 2020, Matthew Liberatore.
However, despite the starting setback, the young veteran Liberatore doesn’t seem to mind falling back into a relief role.
The Cardinals Will Look to Matthew Liberatore for Relief
According to St. Louis Post-Dispatch writer Ben Fredrickson on March 23, Liberatore said he can’t wait for 2024 to get rolling.
“I couldn’t be more excited,” he said. “I said from the get-go this spring that I wanted to be part of the team and contribute in whatever way that is, and I’m going to get that opportunity.”
Liberatore even says he wouldn’t mind closing some games if the Cardinals need it.
“I want the bottom of the ninth if I can get it,” he said. “I want the most leverage position I can get. All games are decided by, really, two or three pitches. I’m ready to pitch whenever, as often as they want me to, and to go out there and compete.”
A Difference Between Starting & Relieving
In the past, Liberatore has shown a marked difference in his success when coming out of the bullpen. As a starter in 2023, he posted an ERA of 5.88. Meanwhile, in his appearances as a reliever, it shrunk to 2.84.
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Getty ImagesMatthew Liberatore in 2023.
The pitcher credits that difference to having to be ready to pitch out of the pen on an almost everyday basis.
“My favorite thing was just the simplification of it,” Liberatore told the Post-Dispatch. “There is still game-planning that goes into it, and obviously preparation. But there is a chance to contribute every day. You don’t have to live or die with your last outing for the next five days. I do like that aspect of it, and I like feeling like I can contribute to the team on a more regular basis. I’m definitely ready to take on this role.
“You’re not saving or holding anything back. Which is nice.”
Liberatore Was Part of a Controversial Trade
Liberatore, 24, was originally drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the first round of the 2018 MLB draft, with the 16th overall selection. The Redbirds acquired him in the 2020 trade that would send outfielder Randy Arozarena to the Rays.
Considering Arozarena’s stellar play since — including winning the 2020 ALCS MVP Award for his late-season heroics, and then going on to capture the 2021 AL Rookie of the Year Award — it’s made for a lopsided trade thus far.
While Arozarena has become a fixture in Tampa, Liberatore has seemingly never settled into his situation with St. Louis, often being moved from role to role, and spending time in the minors. If he’s entrenched in a steady bullpen role in 2024, he could be a dominant southpaw for a Cardinal staff that needs answers as it enters the new season.
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