Cards optimistic experience will carry '24 pitching staff

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While doing his final dissection of the 2023 season, Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak identified proven veteran grit and toughness as the top assets the club needed to add to its pitching staff in the offseason.

Mozeliak acted accordingly by aggressively pursuing veteran free agents Sonny Gray, Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson -- three pitchers with proven track records of durability and dependability that they signed before the end of November. Gray had MLB’s third-best ERA (2.79) last season, while Lynn made 32 starts between the White Sox and Dodgers and Gibson took the ball 33 times for the Orioles. Sure, Lynn had trouble (giving up 44 home runs) and Gibson’s ERA jumped to 4.73, but the two of them still combined for 375 2/3 innings and 348 strikeouts.

The problem with adding experienced veterans, however, is that those players most often tend to be not only on the wrong side of 30, but also up there in terms of baseball years. Gray turned 34 years old in November, while Lynn and Gibson will both turn 37 this year. Add in incumbents Miles Mikolas (36 on Aug. 23) and Steven Matz (33 on May 29), and the Cardinals figure to have one of the most seasoned pitching staffs in all of MLB.

To some pessimistic Cards fans still sour over how 2023 played out, the age of the starting staff tends to sound troubling alarms. Those thoughts aren’t necessarily shared by Mozeliak, who doesn’t focus as much on a player’s age as he does their willingness to work and their competitive spirit. So far, he’s liked what he’s seen from the team’s trio of new starters.

“I do feel like what we missed a lot last year was more experience," Mozeliak said while speaking at the Cards' complex in Jupiter, Fla., on Wednesday. "So, trying to tie age and experience together, it’s usually pretty common. So, going down that path, we knew that [having an older staff] would likely be where we ended up.

“These guys understand what it’s like to go pole to pole and take the ball for 30 starts,” added Mozeliak, referring to Gray, Lynn and Gibson making a combined 97 starts in 2023. “All these guys have been through that, and they understand it. That’s going to be helpful, too, with some of our younger pitchers who are trying to get to that point. Whether it’s mentoring, teaching or coaching, it’s going to be helpful that our veteran guys have done it.”

Mozeliak said his belief in Lynn is strong because he is infinitely familiar with his competitiveness and fiery persona from his formative years as a Cardinal. Not only was Lynn a contributing member of the St. Louis squad that won the 2011 World Series crown, but he also went 72-47 with a 3.38 ERA in six seasons with the Redbirds from ‘11-17.

For all the red flags that Lynn’s 5.73 ERA in 2023 might have prompted, he still won 13 games and has not had a losing season in his 12-year MLB career. The Cards have already discussed with him the need to better mix his pitches and possibly ditch a slider/sweeper that foes posted a .303 average against last season, including three home runs. Of the 44 long balls he surrendered, 32 came off Lynn’s fastball and cutter. Mixing in more curveballs (.208 average against) and sinkers (.243 average against), combined with pitching more at Busch Stadium, should aid Lynn greatly in 2024, Mozeliak said.

“He is a very confident man, and he understands that last year there were some things he was doing that he should have gotten away from sooner,” Mozeliak said, referring to private talks he’s had with Lynn before and after he agreed to rejoin the Cardinals. “Hopefully, from a coaching and strategic standpoint, those are things we can walk through. He’s certainly open-minded to it and very understanding that those [problems] existed. He’ll tell you that he fell in love with that sweeper/slider too much. We think making those changes will get him back to where he needs to be. He still has that arm strength and [a] fastball that’s tough to hit. We want him to do what he’s good at and keep doing it.”

Like his boss, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol isn’t nearly as worried about the age of his team’s pitching staff as some seem to be. Gray works as hard as any player in Cards camp, and Gibson showed up in tremendous shape and showed it off in an early bullpen session on Wednesday. Mikolas made an MLB-leading 35 starts in a down year and is eager for a rebound, while Matz has openly stated that a 30-start season is at the top of his goals.

“Even though these guys are in their 30s, each guy is different and brings something different to the table,” Marmol said. “So, am I concerned with the age of our rotation? No, not necessarily because they’re not all one in the same.”