ST. LOUIS – One prolonged problem still plagues an improved St. Louis Cardinals pitching staff. The team hasn’t had much consistency from their fifth starter role this season.

Heading into the weekend series with the division rival Chicago Cubs, there’s a new void in the fifth starter’s role, and it’s unclear who will fill it.

The Cardinals had given Matthew Liberatore several chances over the last few weeks, but he has largely struggled as a starter compared to his bullpen work. He stepped in for Steven Matz, who landed on the injured list in early May with a lower back strain and doesn’t have a clear timetable for return.

Prior to Matz’s injury, as ace Sonny Gray started the first few series on the injured list, the Cardinals tested Zack Thompson as a temporary starter. That didn’t last long or come with much success either.

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In 11 combined starts this year, Liberatore, Matz and Thompson are 1-5 with a 6.75 ERA. Simply put, if the Cardinals are truly looking to stay competitive, those results are hard to justify.

Manager Oli Marmol appeared to send that message after Liberatore’s tough start Sunday against the Red Sox, telling MLB.com’s John Denton that Liberatore is unlikely to start this weekend and the team is “exploring other options.”

So what exactly are the options to fill the fifth starter’s void? Here are some possibilities worth following over the next several weeks.

Promote a pitching prospect

The Cardinals could turn to to the minors for a fresh arm. Several starting pitchers at Triple-A Memphis have proven they are capable of eating innings, though results have been a bit all over the place.

Sem Robberse, who the Cardinals acquired in a trade for Jordan Hicks last year, has arguably had the best stuff among the team’s starting pitching prospects, flashing a 5-2 record with a 3.29 ERA and an average of 6.11 innings per start. He would be on line to start Saturday on normal rest, and perhaps it helps his case that he’s on the 40-man roster. That said, the Cardinals have not often discussed a timeline for getting Robberse to the majors.

Adam Kloffenstein (4.84 ERA, 48.1 IP) and Michael McGreevey (5.84 ERA, 44.2 IP) could also theoretically pitch on normal rest come Saturday as well, but chances of their call-ups soon seem less likely. As could Cardinals’ top-ranked pitching prospect Tink Hence (3.18 ERA, 39.2 IP with Double-A Springfield). He’s ranked as MLB’s No. 49 overall prospect and could make a push this season, but Saturday seems unlikely.

External options

Looking outside of the organization is probably not likely unless the Cardinals feel Matz will miss an unprecedented amount of time. There are a few pitchers who were recently designated for assignment that have starting experience, including Brad Keller, Amir Garrett and Josh Fleming.

If the Cardinals look outside, it would most likely be for a short-term piece. That said, lead executive John Mozeliak hasn’t indicated that the Cardinals need to look elsewhere for pitching help and reportedly shut down the idea of Trevor Bauer, a former Cy Young winner who recently dealt with legal matters, joining the team.

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Cardinals (Seasonal)

Veteran starters bumped up

From time to time, the Cardinals have bumped up their firm four starting rotation members (Sonny Gray, Lance Lynn, Kyle Gibson and Miles Mikolas) in order to pitch on the normal four days rest as opposed to getting a fifth off-day that could be baked into the schedule due to off-days.

The Cardinals could theoretically do this until next Tuesday against the Cincinnati Reds. St. Louis will have another off-day that following Thursday and could bump up their first four starters once again.

However, this could present some long-term issues beyond May. The Cardinals will only have three more off-days before All-Star break once the calendar flips to June. The team may also be cautious with its current healthy starting pitchers, especially Sonny Gray after he reportedly motioned to be removed from Monday’s game due to his workload.

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Bulk Reliever or Bullpen Game

The longer the Cardinals wait on any of the first three aforementioned options, the more likely they’ll need to find creative ways for their bullpen to cover innings. St. Louis has done better than most teams in giving their bullpen adequate rest, a priority the front office fulfilled by signing veteran innings eaters Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson.

A few teams, most notably the Tampa Bay Rays, have addressed starting pitcher shortages through choosing bulk relievers. Essentially, you would have one bullpen piece pitch to the top of a lineup for an inning or too, then turn the mound over to a guy who can cover another 3-4 innings in relief.

The Cardinals have experimented with this occasionally under Marmol, most notably in 2022 when Jordan Hicks started games and Matthew Liberatore covered multiple innings in relief. Kyle Leahy took on a “bulk reliever” role to some degree last week, covering 2.2 innings after Liberatore started against the Los Angeles Angels. Newcomers Ryan Fernandez and Nick Robertson could also be candidates to serve in this role.

If the Cardinals don’t embrace the concept of a bulk reliever, they could opt for bullpen games where guys cover one or two innings in spots where their matchups are favorable. For example, assigning a southpaw like John King to cover an inning where mostly left-handed hitters are due.

Whatever the Cardinals choose, it seems they will have a decision to make to fill a starting pitcher’s void sometime between Saturday and Tuesday. For now, we’ll wait and see.

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