最新杏吧原创

Understandably, Cardinals fans may have a mix of feelings about Steven Matz. There鈥檚 likely some disappointment. Perhaps a feeling of what could have been. For others, there鈥檚 probably a bit of resentment that Matz鈥檚 stint will be remembered more for injury than accomplishment.

Cardinals left-hander Matthew Liberatore feels none of those things when he thinks about his former teammate and fellow southpaw. Seated Wednesday afternoon in the home dugout at Busch Stadium, Liberatore expressed a level of admiration, appreciation and reverence for Matz.

Last season proved a pivotal season for both Matz and Liberatore, for different reasons. Matz changed roles, changed teams midsummer and took some valuable lessons about himself from the year. Meanwhile, Liberatore took a huge step and became a full-time starter in the big leagues.

Liberatore, the Cardinals opening day starter this season and one of the leaders of the current pitching staff, doesn鈥檛 take for granted the impact Matz had on him reaching this point in his still-young career. The fact that Matz, now a member of the Tampa Bay Rays, will start against the Cardinals on Sunday at Busch Stadium didn鈥檛 change Liberatore鈥檚 outlook.

鈥淢atz is a true pro,鈥� Liberatore said. 鈥淗e might be one of the best human beings I鈥檝e ever met, on and off the field. He was one of the guys, when I was a young guy, that would sit down and just talk with me and answer questions and make me feel like I belonged here. I was super disappointed to see him leave because we weren鈥檛 only losing a great pitcher, but we were losing one of the best teammates I think this whole clubhouse has seen.

鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 be more happy for him to be in the rotation again with another team. It鈥檚 going to be awesome to go and see him do his thing and compete.鈥�

Matz, voted the 2023 Darryl Kile Award winner by his Cardinals teammates, signed a four-year deal with the club prior to the 2022 season. In the first three seasons of the deal (2022-24), he made 52 appearances and just 34 starts due to a combination of injury and being moved to the bullpen for brief periods.

Last year, the Cardinals began the season with a modified six-man pitching rotation. Matz鈥檚 first appearance of the season came in the form of a four-inning relief outing in the third game of the season. He allowed just one batter to reach base and earned the save in four scoreless innings.

Matz made two starts in April, a win against the Houston Astros and a no-decision against the Cincinnati Reds. After he made that second start, he鈥檇 made nine total appearances (seven in relief).

Matz spent the rest of the season pitching in relief, including 21 appearances for the Boston Red Sox after the Cardinals dealt him away at that trade deadline.

鈥淚 take so many things from last year,鈥� Matz said. 鈥淚 think I鈥檝e catered my routine a little bit to where I鈥檓 not trying to just outwork myself into success. I鈥檓 working a lot smarter. I have a lot more trust in what I can do.

鈥淗onestly, from that first outing I remember I pitched six innings in spring training. I can鈥檛 remember days I had off before my first outing, and I was a little bit worried, you know, I hadn鈥檛 thrown in a long time. I threw four innings, got a save, no runs, threw really well. It was like, 鈥業 can trust my stuff.鈥� That just really carried me throughout the season. The big emphasis was enjoying being able to play every day and not stress. Just truly enjoy it.鈥�

Matz鈥檚 move to the bullpen facilitated Liberatore鈥檚 transition from the bullpen to the starting rotation. Liberatore made 29 starts and pitched 151 2/3 innings last season, both career highs.

Effectively, the club鈥檚 commitment to see things through with Liberatore as a starting pitcher last season relegated Matz to a hybrid role early and a full-time bullpen role by the second month of the season.

Matz credited his decision to go into the year with the mindset to enjoy the season 鈥渘o matter what happens,鈥� helped him stay positive about his new role despite being in the final year of a contract he signed with the intention of being an anchor of the rotation.

鈥淭hey told me I鈥檓 going to the bullpen,鈥� Matz said. 鈥� 鈥榊ou know what? I鈥檓 going to enjoy pitching out of the bullpen.鈥� And I did. I had a great time with those guys. I learned a lot. And Libby got a great opportunity. He鈥檚 starting opening day. So it all worked out. I鈥檓 here starting. I think just having that mindset going into it trying to enjoy the year helped aim me where I needed to go.鈥�

Matz didn鈥檛 express any hard feelings about his final season with the Cardinals. In fact, he genuinely seemed appreciative that the trade to the Red Sox put him in a pennant race and, subsequently, allowed him to pitch in the postseason. He used the term "thankful" more than once to describe his feelings about how things unfolded in 2025.

This offseason, Matz, 34, wasn鈥檛 sure what interest he鈥檇 receive or in what role teams might see him fitting. He knew he wanted to continue playing. The Rays showed interest in Matz as a starter, and they鈥檝e earned a reputation for getting the most out of veteran pitchers over the years.

In recent years, the veteran pitchers who鈥檝e enjoyed renaissance years or late-career success with the Rays includes Zach Eflin, Corey Kluber, Michael Wacha, Rich Hill, Collin McHugh and Charlie Morton.

So far, Matz has hit it off with pitching coach Kyle Snyder.

鈥淭here鈥檚 been some tweaks, some feedback, trying some of this, trying some of that, landing on this type of thing,鈥� Matz said. 鈥淎nything from this pitch to this grip to this side of the mound to where my locations need to play, there鈥檚 been a lot of communication with that this spring. I鈥檓 really feeling like it鈥檚 starting to come together and really have a good focus on what I need to do this season.鈥�

As for making his first start of this new chapter with his new team back in 最新杏吧原创, Matz is taking it in stride.

鈥淚t was a little weird landing here, just kind of the nostalgia of the past four years,鈥� Matz said. 鈥淏ut ultimately, you go out there, you get in compete mode and kind of all that stuff fades away.鈥�