The idea is over the bar, not under…
Please Don't
Moderators: STLtoday Forum Moderators, Cards Talk Moderators
-
- Forum User
- Posts: 425
- Joined: 24 Apr 2022 17:13 pm
Re: Please Don't
Leahy is a totally different pitcher than Pallante. He has several major league ready pitches and swing and miss stuff. Pallante doesn't have that. Leahy absolutely should be tried as a starter next year.
-
- Forum User
- Posts: 1014
- Joined: 02 May 2025 19:12 pm
Re: Please Don't
Hard to answer as we don’t really know who might be available for trade, and we can’t give up any of the few high end prospects we have. Best I can do is spitball a few ideas from different angles.Stlcardsblues wrote: ↑28 Sep 2025 20:16 pmThe team is not spending money this offseason and will have at least three holes in the rotation. What options are you seeing better than Leahy? Not saying I would do it but where are you getting higher level players for next years rotation.CorneliusWolfe wrote: ↑28 Sep 2025 15:53 pmNo [shirt]. Can we raise the bar for once when it comes to the rotation? ….the most important aspect of the team?
Nothing against Leahy either, but can we also leave players alone that are thriving in a particular spot?
You currently have a rotation of Libby, McGreevy and three openings. We don’t have three at the minor league level ready. Isn’t seeing if Leahy is ready better than signing a Gibson or Lynn type pitcher to a one-year deal on a cheap contract?
1. Cease? Still young but I do think he’s kind of overrated
2. Float a package of Donovan, Burleson and Noot or Gorman (the latter two being change of scenery candidates) in a trade for a starter with a couple years of control. Also open to adding other prospects not named Wetherholt/Doyle/Raniel R.
3. Keep Sonny as an overpriced #3. Not ideal but I think all we would get for him is a bag of balls anyway because BDW doesn’t eat $$. We’re not getting any high prospect capital for him, so maybe he’s more valuable to us under the circumstances.
4. I did like Framber Valdez but he kind of showed his (donkey), to say the least, and might be a clubhouse cancer on a team that needs a culture change.
5. Promote Curtis Taylor from Memphis. He’s been in the minors for a while now and gained a little of experience. Had a great year with good innings built up. Could be an overlooked gem.
6. Be aggressive with Doyle or Matthews. Doyle pitched a lot in high competition college ball.
I’d also like to see Leahy, O’Brien, and maybe JoJo and a veteran acquisition fight it out for closer role.
-
- Forum User
- Posts: 12317
- Joined: 23 May 2024 12:41 pm
Re: Please Don't
RE:
2007
BDWJr is running the same playbook.
2007
BDWJr is running the same playbook.
-
- Forum User
- Posts: 4078
- Joined: 06 Oct 2020 15:45 pm
Re: Please Don't
Limited starts usually means 6th starter which is perfect. Just need to add 2 FA. Someone will miss timeStlcardsblues wrote: ↑28 Sep 2025 20:23 pmThey can limit his starts. Will be very curious how Bloom rebuilds this staff while cutting payroll.Youboughtit wrote: ↑28 Sep 2025 20:20 pm88 IP x 25% increase which is a lot for 1 year is 110 innings. Let’s give him 120max. Thats 20 starts. It takes 32 for a full season so even if they try he will be limitedStlcardsblues wrote: ↑28 Sep 2025 20:16 pmThe team is not spending money this offseason and will have at least three holes in the rotation. What options are you seeing better than Leahy? Not saying I would do it but where are you getting higher level players for next years rotation.CorneliusWolfe wrote: ↑28 Sep 2025 15:53 pmNo [shirt]. Can we raise the bar for once when it comes to the rotation? ….the most important aspect of the team?
Nothing against Leahy either, but can we also leave players alone that are thriving in a particular spot?
You currently have a rotation of Libby, McGreevy and three openings. We don’t have three at the minor league level ready. Isn’t seeing if Leahy is ready better than signing a Gibson or Lynn type pitcher to a one-year deal on a cheap contract?
Re: Please Don't
Prospective starters need to increase both their number of innings and pitching efficiency, each season. Tell you what - if the Cards have McCreevy, Matthews, and leahy in their rotation come April, along with Liberatore and Pallante in the hole, should they consider a 6-man rotation? Seems we argue this every seasonTalkin' Baseball wrote: ↑28 Sep 2025 11:26 am Please don't try to put Kyle Leahy in the rotation next season. I like having him on the team. He is valuable in the role he is in. I see him more as Pallante 2.0 than Liberatore 2.0. Even in the best case scenario, if he works out, we can expect a serious wall with respect to innings pitched. He pitched 144 innings in 2022. The most he has pitched in a season since then is the 85 he has pitched this year. If he were to pitch even 120 innings next year, that would represent a 30% increase over this year. Please don't.
Re: Please Don't
Leahy makes all the sense in the world to try as a starter. If he is a success, great, he fills a spot. If he doesn't so what? The life of a relief pitcher tends to be quite short. I think he is talented and deserves a shot. If he fails and goes back to the pen, no harm.CorneliusWolfe wrote: ↑28 Sep 2025 22:24 pmHard to answer as we don’t really know who might be available for trade, and we can’t give up any of the few high end prospects we have. Best I can do is spitball a few ideas from different angles.Stlcardsblues wrote: ↑28 Sep 2025 20:16 pmThe team is not spending money this offseason and will have at least three holes in the rotation. What options are you seeing better than Leahy? Not saying I would do it but where are you getting higher level players for next years rotation.CorneliusWolfe wrote: ↑28 Sep 2025 15:53 pmNo [shirt]. Can we raise the bar for once when it comes to the rotation? ….the most important aspect of the team?
Nothing against Leahy either, but can we also leave players alone that are thriving in a particular spot?
You currently have a rotation of Libby, McGreevy and three openings. We don’t have three at the minor league level ready. Isn’t seeing if Leahy is ready better than signing a Gibson or Lynn type pitcher to a one-year deal on a cheap contract?
1. Cease? Still young but I do think he’s kind of overrated
2. Float a package of Donovan, Burleson and Noot or Gorman (the latter two being change of scenery candidates) in a trade for a starter with a couple years of control. Also open to adding other prospects not named Wetherholt/Doyle/Raniel R.
3. Keep Sonny as an overpriced #3. Not ideal but I think all we would get for him is a bag of balls anyway because BDW doesn’t eat $$. We’re not getting any high prospect capital for him, so maybe he’s more valuable to us under the circumstances.
4. I did like Framber Valdez but he kind of showed his (donkey), to say the least, and might be a clubhouse cancer on a team that needs a culture change.
5. Promote Curtis Taylor from Memphis. He’s been in the minors for a while now and gained a little of experience. Had a great year with good innings built up. Could be an overlooked gem.
6. Be aggressive with Doyle or Matthews. Doyle pitched a lot in high competition college ball.
I’d also like to see Leahy, O’Brien, and maybe JoJo and a veteran acquisition fight it out for closer role.
You put out a lot of decent ideas. But, I doubt they spend money on a high end veteran. If they could get Dustin May to sign a reasonable 1 year deal with an option, I think he is a decent off season FA target with upside. But, I have no idea what his price might be. I could see them doing it for $5M plus a team option for 2027. If the price is much higher, they won't go there. Cease will be in the $20M range...
For certain the Cards will obtain at least 1 ML ready starter in a trade this offseason, maybe 2.
They also have our old friend Zach Thompson who was injured all year who will probably be given one last chance in 2026.
Finally, unlike 2025 where the Cards depth consisted solely of McGreevy, the Cards are going to have a full rotation in Memphis, Hendersen, Mautz, Hansen and Mathews who should be available as pitchers either fail or get injured. I understand you wanting to be aggressive with Mathews. But, the dude walked 74 guys in 94 innings in Memphis last year. It is hard to see them being aggressive with him until he fixes the walk rate.
I prefer for them to keep Doyle in the minors the entire year to work on his secondary pitches so when he arrives in 2027 he is ready to be a true #2/#1. Lets not mess up another guy...
I think the Cards will have a lot of options next year and they will be able to sort through the names above to see who can stick. That should give them a lot more certainty going into 2027, a year when both Roby and Hjerpe should also be returning. Hopefully, we get upside surprises in the rotation in 2026. If not, the rebuilding process will be longer...
-
- Forum User
- Posts: 6158
- Joined: 23 May 2024 13:01 pm
Re: Please Don't
It’s kind of a weird situation. He’s a big part of the cardinals winning games this season with his ability to come in and pitch two innings to bridge the gap. That will be a big weapon and blow to the bullpen. He will also hit a wall at around the all star break like liberatore did so people will have to be ready to be complaining about him like they did liebratore because it will happenTalkin' Baseball wrote: ↑28 Sep 2025 11:26 am Please don't try to put Kyle Leahy in the rotation next season. I like having him on the team. He is valuable in the role he is in. I see him more as Pallante 2.0 than Liberatore 2.0. Even in the best case scenario, if he works out, we can expect a serious wall with respect to innings pitched. He pitched 144 innings in 2022. The most he has pitched in a season since then is the 85 he has pitched this year. If he were to pitch even 120 innings next year, that would represent a 30% increase over this year. Please don't.
Re: Please Don't
It will. But, if it builds him up and he is good enough, it fills in a piece for 2027. They need to find SP pieces. They simply are not going to spend big bucks on FA pitchers. Yes, people will complain. What we should all hope for is that at the end of 2026, they go into 2027 knowing what the rotation is and knowing who the next up guys are and everyone thinks the rotation is decent, even if not great. That should be the goal next year.Ozziesfan41 wrote: ↑29 Sep 2025 22:11 pmIt’s kind of a weird situation. He’s a big part of the cardinals winning games this season with his ability to come in and pitch two innings to bridge the gap. That will be a big weapon and blow to the bullpen. He will also hit a wall at around the all star break like liberatore did so people will have to be ready to be complaining about him like they did liebratore because it will happenTalkin' Baseball wrote: ↑28 Sep 2025 11:26 am Please don't try to put Kyle Leahy in the rotation next season. I like having him on the team. He is valuable in the role he is in. I see him more as Pallante 2.0 than Liberatore 2.0. Even in the best case scenario, if he works out, we can expect a serious wall with respect to innings pitched. He pitched 144 innings in 2022. The most he has pitched in a season since then is the 85 he has pitched this year. If he were to pitch even 120 innings next year, that would represent a 30% increase over this year. Please don't.
-
- Forum User
- Posts: 8192
- Joined: 23 May 2024 14:43 pm
Re: Please Don't
Who missed time this year?Youboughtit wrote: ↑29 Sep 2025 19:08 pmLimited starts usually means 6th starter which is perfect. Just need to add 2 FA. Someone will miss timeStlcardsblues wrote: ↑28 Sep 2025 20:23 pmThey can limit his starts. Will be very curious how Bloom rebuilds this staff while cutting payroll.Youboughtit wrote: ↑28 Sep 2025 20:20 pm88 IP x 25% increase which is a lot for 1 year is 110 innings. Let’s give him 120max. Thats 20 starts. It takes 32 for a full season so even if they try he will be limitedStlcardsblues wrote: ↑28 Sep 2025 20:16 pmThe team is not spending money this offseason and will have at least three holes in the rotation. What options are you seeing better than Leahy? Not saying I would do it but where are you getting higher level players for next years rotation.CorneliusWolfe wrote: ↑28 Sep 2025 15:53 pmNo [shirt]. Can we raise the bar for once when it comes to the rotation? ….the most important aspect of the team?
Nothing against Leahy either, but can we also leave players alone that are thriving in a particular spot?
You currently have a rotation of Libby, McGreevy and three openings. We don’t have three at the minor league level ready. Isn’t seeing if Leahy is ready better than signing a Gibson or Lynn type pitcher to a one-year deal on a cheap contract?
Re: Please Don't
Not only correct but really the only factor that matters. They'll try Leahy and hope Mathews or Doyle is ready by the time he falters.
-
- Forum User
- Posts: 1247
- Joined: 23 May 2024 13:17 pm
Re: Please Don't
I think 2026 should be the year where they try whatever they want.
If they think that Leahy could make a decent 4th or 5th starter, why not give him a shot? Yea, limit his innings. Give the rest of those innings to another pitcher who you want to call up at some point. Or do something creative like a 6-man rotation so that you can get a few guys innings who you want to see if they can start, yet they may not be able to handle a full season's worth of starts.
If they think that Leahy could make a decent 4th or 5th starter, why not give him a shot? Yea, limit his innings. Give the rest of those innings to another pitcher who you want to call up at some point. Or do something creative like a 6-man rotation so that you can get a few guys innings who you want to see if they can start, yet they may not be able to handle a full season's worth of starts.
-
- Forum User
- Posts: 3242
- Joined: 25 May 2024 06:20 am
Re: Please Don't
As long as they manage him as a 3-4 inning guy I like the idea.
-
- Forum User
- Posts: 1531
- Joined: 11 Feb 2018 12:39 pm
Re: Please Don't
It would also be a good time to start aiming higher.Ronnie Dobbs wrote: ↑30 Sep 2025 08:04 am I think 2026 should be the year where they try whatever they want.
If they think that Leahy could make a decent 4th or 5th starter, why not give him a shot? Yea, limit his innings. Give the rest of those innings to another pitcher who you want to call up at some point. Or do something creative like a 6-man rotation so that you can get a few guys innings who you want to see if they can start, yet they may not be able to handle a full season's worth of starts.
-
- Forum User
- Posts: 4078
- Joined: 06 Oct 2020 15:45 pm
Re: Please Don't
For the cardinals no one but they did move on from Fedde and the #6 threw the exact # of inning we are talking. Being in the rotation as an every 5th day out of ST for Leahy will result in injury or having to be shut down due to innings limit.scoutyjones2 wrote: ↑30 Sep 2025 07:19 amWho missed time this year?Youboughtit wrote: ↑29 Sep 2025 19:08 pmLimited starts usually means 6th starter which is perfect. Just need to add 2 FA. Someone will miss timeStlcardsblues wrote: ↑28 Sep 2025 20:23 pmThey can limit his starts. Will be very curious how Bloom rebuilds this staff while cutting payroll.Youboughtit wrote: ↑28 Sep 2025 20:20 pm88 IP x 25% increase which is a lot for 1 year is 110 innings. Let’s give him 120max. Thats 20 starts. It takes 32 for a full season so even if they try he will be limitedStlcardsblues wrote: ↑28 Sep 2025 20:16 pmThe team is not spending money this offseason and will have at least three holes in the rotation. What options are you seeing better than Leahy? Not saying I would do it but where are you getting higher level players for next years rotation.CorneliusWolfe wrote: ↑28 Sep 2025 15:53 pmNo [shirt]. Can we raise the bar for once when it comes to the rotation? ….the most important aspect of the team?
Nothing against Leahy either, but can we also leave players alone that are thriving in a particular spot?
You currently have a rotation of Libby, McGreevy and three openings. We don’t have three at the minor league level ready. Isn’t seeing if Leahy is ready better than signing a Gibson or Lynn type pitcher to a one-year deal on a cheap contract?