It seems I start all of my weekly posts with some mention of how the St. Louis Cardinals continue to hover around .500 and remain in sniffing distance of the postseason. That tradition continues this week as two more series wins (pending) could hopefully erase some disappointment from losing the previous two and keeps the Cardinals in the race.
While the Doug Eddings saga could make for a fun story that pushed this team to their 12th World Series title, the true focus remains on 2027 and beyond. Answers for the future are more clear on the position player side of things, but Chaim Bloom and his staff have seen plenty to be proud of on the pitching side, as well. Despite long-term injuries to Richard Fitts, Max Rajcic, and Hunter Dobbins, the starting rotation has solid pieces to the staff next year.
Andre Pallante, Kyle Leahy, and Michael McGreevy have been easy to count on all season and are near locks for next year’s rotation. Quinn Mathews is going to keep getting an opportunity to find his consistency around the strike zone, but Matthew Liberatore is likely fighting for his spot in the starting five. This season’s Opening Day starter, Libby leads the NL in losses, but the Dobbins’ injury firms up his slot for the final month of the year and he has again showed flashes to be a back-end starter (for 4.1 innings).
Michael McGreevy could be the Cardinals’ honorary Opening Day starter in 2027
Coming into the 2026 season, the starting rotation projected as a middle-of-the-road group with free agent signee Dustin May having the most talent among the five. Even so, Liberatore was named the team’s Opening Day starter and currently leads the team with 28 starts despite the tough results. The former top prospect has been a guinea pig for the Cardinals’ coaching staff since he was acquired from the Rays, and the game one honors showed their faith and commitment to him as a starter.
Along with the Opening Day nod, Liberatore was also the face of the rotation when it came to offseason marketing material. In 2027, I could see the same thing happening as the Cardinals set their pitching order, but this time, Michael McGreevy is the front man alongside the veterans and prospects that will make up the group. While the others may have more raw talent than the soft-tossing, pitch-to-contact McGreevy, he has really taken off in popularity among Cardinals fans.
Be it on podcasts, radio shows, in-game interviews, or his parents on the mic, McGreevy has let his personality come out since becoming one of the “veterans” in the rotation. Assuming the Cardinals add an arm in free agency that will take the Dustin May path to the trade deadline and throw in some prospects for competition, McGreevy might be the more accomplished starter to give the ball to on Opening Day. This is not said to negate anything that Andre Pallante has done this year, which has been a phenomenal outcome, but McGreevy gives the Cardinals marketing team a little more to work with and build excitement around for the season.
Pallante has easily been the better pitcher this year after making adjustments from a miserable second half of the 2025 campaign. Because of the Cardinals 2027 schedule having multiple off days in the first week, the Cardinals could also give both guys an honor they deserve. St. Louis will be on the road for their first six games before opening up Busch Stadium on April 1 against the Royals.
Starting the home opener might have a little more personal value to some pitchers as nothing compares to leading your team to the field in the home whites in front of a sell out crowd. To give both pitchers their flowers, Oli Marmol could opt to reward Pallante for his comeback season with the game one start and then have McGreevy greet the home fans in the first game at Busch.
I am personally hoping that this year’s team inspired enough confidence that Chaim is happy with a lot of the foundational pieces, especially in the lineup. Third base and center field need to be solved, but the rest of the lineup could hopefully hide whoever is there for the time being. If Bloom really believes that he has perennial 100 RBI guys in the middle of the order with another 3-4 solid bats at the top, I would hope to see some more financial investment in free agent arms.
Besides a Dustin May 2.0 or two, Bloom should throw some money at the bullpen to reward the offense and starter for their work to keep games close. If he signs another starter, it is doubtful that arm would get the honor of Opening Day or a home opener, so my vote still sits with McGreevy for the time being.
Thanks as always!
Join the conversation!
Sign up for a user account and get:
-
Comment on articles, community posts
-
Rec comments, community posts
-
New, improved notifications system!
Download the SB Nation app on iOS or Android.
Read the full article here