Though likely to move out of rotation, Pallante showing 'growth' as starter

ST. LOUIS -- At a time when the Cardinals desperately needed him to bail them out as their No. 5 starter, Andre Pallante willingly remade himself as a pitcher, developed the kind of pitch arsenal needed to combat right-handed hitters and evolved into a reliable, season-saving force.

So, it’s certainly understandable why the 25-year-old right-hander from Southern California might have been feeling a bit of frustration throughout the day on Monday after the Cardinals traded for right-hander Erick Fedde in a three-team deal with the White Sox and Dodgers. The Cardinals were mostly hoping to fortify an aging staff that has started to show troubling cracks of late, and their hope is that the 31-year-old Fedde can provide a shot in the arm for the staff.

The unsaid result of the Fedde addition, however, is that Pallante’s days as a starter are likely numbered. He had a look of resignation on his face late Monday night -- both because he was the losing pitcher in the Cardinals’ 6-3 loss to the Rangers, and because he knows he’ll likely be a reliever again despite his impressive work as a starter.

“I mean, I’ll just have to see whatever they’re going to do,” said a dejected Pallante, a victim of several soft-contract singles over his five innings of work. “I make pitches -- that’s what I do. Wherever I do that or in whatever my role is, I’m going to do it to the best of my ability.”

With Fedde not expected to report to the Cardinals until Thursday -- when the club travels to Chicago -- the Cardinals have a few days to decide how they plan to slot their newcomer into the rotation. Long a member of the Nationals after being the No. 18 overall pick of the 2014 MLB Draft, Fedde left MLB and to pitch in Korea in 2023 to try to get his career back on track. He did just that by developing a devastating sweeper that allowed him to go 7-4 with a 3.11 ERA over 21 starts this season with the rebuilding White Sox. In 121 2/3 innings, Fedde has limited the opposition to a .227 average.

The Cardinals feel that Fedde has the kind of stuff and grit that will make him a perfect top-of-the-rotation stopper alongside Sonny Gray and likely just ahead of veterans Kyle Gibson, Miles Mikolas and Lance Lynn. Where that leaves Pallante is likely back in the bullpen as a righty who specializes in getting left-handers out.

“We feel like getting another starting pitcher is really going to help us,” said Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak, who was also able to address his team’s need for a right-handed bat by landing Tommy Pham. “Obviously, our rotation has been very successful this year. But as you enter August, people get tired and just being able to have a fresh arm and someone who was having the success that Erick was having, that’s something that we desired.”

The Cardinals lost veteran left-hander Steven Matz in late April to a back injury and initially tried filling that hole with left-hander Matthew Liberatore. During that time, Pallante was with Triple-A Memphis, reworking his fastball so that it would break inside to right-handed hitters and making him more of a legitimate option as a starter.

The third-year player got his first chance at starting on May 29 and all he did was limit the rival Reds to three hits over six scoreless innings of work. In his nine starts before Monday, Pallante had gone 4-3 with a respectable 3.42 ERA. Most importantly, he helped stabilize a position that had been one of constant consternation early in the season, as the Cardinals were falling a season worst nine games under .500 at 15-24.

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol shuddered to think where his club might have been had Pallante not matured as a pitcher and bailed the club out with several strong starts.

“He’s probably made the most growth I’ve seen in a player this year if we’re talking about mentality,” Marmol said. “How he uses his stuff is who he is, but when it comes to how he’s taking the mound and his overall mound presence, determination, focus and preparation -- you could go down the list -- he’s grown a ton.”

That praise did little to soothe the pain splattered all over Pallante’s face after the Rangers tagged him for seven hits, tied for the most he’s allowed this season. It didn’t matter that they came primarily off soft contact.

“Some balls were hit well and right at guys, and some were hit poorly where no one was, and that’s going to happen,” Pallante said. “I’ve just gotta keep going out there and trying to make pitches.”