Cardinals' Quinn Mathews: Misses out on Opening Day rotation
Rotowire
The Cardinals reassigned Mathews to minor-league camp Sunday.
Though Mathews is regarded as one of St. Louis' top pitching prospects, he was always facing an uphill battle to win a spot in the Opening Day rotation after having made just four starts above the Double-A level. The 24-year-old southpaw should still make his MLB debut at some point in 2025, but for now, the Cardinals will send him to minor-league camp to open up more innings in Grapefruit League play for other rotation candidates. He'll continue to stay in a starter's schedule at minor-league camp, with Rob Rains of StLSportsPage.com noting that Mathews will cover three innings Sunday in a game on the back fields.
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Cardinals' Quinn Mathews: Dazzles in spring debut
Rotowire
Mathews fanned three batters while allowing two hits and one walk over two scoreless innings in Tuesday's Grapefruit League game against the Blue Jays.
The reigning minor-league strikeout leader set down Vladimir Guerrero swinging in a perfect first inning before adding a pair of strikeouts in the second to escape a bases-loaded jam. Mathews has an outside shot to win a spot in the Cardinals' rotation if he wows this spring, but he's most likely pegged for Triple-A Memphis. Even if he doesn't break camp with the big club, he's a good bet to spend a good chunk of 2025 in the St. Louis rotation.
Cardinals' Quinn Mathews: Starting camp with big-league club
Rotowire
Mathews will begin spring training with the major-league team as a non-roster invitee, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Mathews moved his way quickly through the Cardinals' farm system in 2024, taking care of business at both Single-A Palm Beach and Peoria before being promoted to Double-A Springfield and ultimately Triple-A Memphis, where he struggled to find his footing. He accrued a 6.48 ERA and 1.98 WHIP with a 22:14 K:BB across 16.2 innings for the Redbirds. Mathews may not break camp with the big-league team, but he'll gain some experience against major-league bats at the very least.
