Matthew Liberatore - Page 5 - MLB News, Rumors, & Updates

Set for bullpen role Liberatore (back) will pitch out of the bullpen in his return to the Cardinals' active roster, Jim Hayes of Bally Sports Midwest reports.

Impact Liberatore was reinstated from the 15-day injured list during the Cardinals' off day Monday and will be available in relief beginning with Tuesday's series opener at Atlanta. The 23-year-old left-hander has struggled to a 6.12 ERA, 1.64 WHIP and 35:21 K:BB in 50 innings of work this season at the major-league level.

SEPTEMBER 5, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Activated from injured list Liberatore (back) was activated from the 15-day injured list Monday.

Impact Liberatore didn't pitch well in two rehab starts with Triple-A Memphis, allowing six runs while walking 10 over 6.2 innings. He did get his pitch count up to 83 in his last outing Sunday and the Cardinals have decided he's ready. St. Louis presumably wants to stick Liberatore back in their rotation, although it's unclear when he might make a start.

SEPTEMBER 5, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Another inefficient rehab start Liberatore (back) struck out six while allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits and five walks over three innings in his rehab start Sunday for Triple-A Memphis.

Impact Though the young southpaw was able to build up to 90 pitches Sunday, he threw just 50 strikes and issued five free passes for the second rehab outing in a row. Liberatore looks to be fully stretched out again after landing on the 15-day injured list Aug. 22 with lower-back tightness, but his ongoing struggles in finding the strike zone could prompt the Cardinals to send him back out for another rehab start during the upcoming week rather than activating him.

SEPTEMBER 3, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Getting another rehab start Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Friday that Liberatore is scheduled to make at least one more rehab start at Triple-A Memphis prior to being activated from the 15-day injured...

Impact Though Liberatore tossed 78 pitches in his first rehab start with Memphis on Tuesday, he wasn't particularly sharp. He spotted only 45 of his pitches for strikes, recording five punchouts while allowing five runs on four hits and five walks over 3.2 innings. Liberatore will presumably make his next turn for Memphis on Sunday, and if he shows more efficiency in that outing, he could return from the IL for the Cardinals' series next weekend in Cincinnati.

SEPTEMBER 2, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Tosses 78 pitches in rehab start Liberatore (back) covered 3.2 innings and gave up five earned runs on four hits and five walks while striking out five in his rehab start Tuesday with Triple-A Memphis.

Impact Though he didn't escape the fourth inning Tuesday, Liberatore still tossed 78 pitches (45 strikes) while taking the hill for the first time since landing on the 15-day injured list Aug. 22 with lower-back tightness. From a workload standpoint, Liberatore appears ready to re-enter the big-league rotation, but the Cardinals may want to see a more efficient outing in the minors from the young lefty before activating him.

AUGUST 31, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Ready for rehab assignment Liberatore (back) will begin a rehab assignment Tuesday with Triple-A Memphis, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

Impact Liberatore landed on the injured list last Tuesday, and he will get back up on the bump one week later. He has not appeared in a game since Aug. 16, so he could be back with the big club at some point in early September.

AUGUST 28, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Cardinals place LHP Matthew Liberatore (back) on IL The St. Louis Cardinals placed left-hander Matthew Liberatore on the 15-day injured list Tuesday with tightness in his lower back.

AUGUST 22, 2023 • DEADSPIN.COM

Lands on IL with tight back St. Louis placed Liberatore on the 15-day injured list Tuesday, retroactive to Aug. 19, with lower-back tightness, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

Impact Liberatore was scheduled to return to the Cardinals' rotation Wednesday in Pittsburgh, but the back issue that arose in his previous start Aug. 16 against the Athletics did not fully respond to a period of extra rest. The young left-hander has struggled to a 6.12 ERA, 1.64 WHIP and 35:21 K:BB across 50 major-league innings this year.

AUGUST 22, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Next start moved to Wednesday Liberatore will make his next start Wednesday in Pittsburgh while he gets extra time to heal up from back pain, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

Impact Liberatore had been lined up to take the hill for Monday's series opener at PNC Park, but the Cardinals will instead call up Drew Rom from Triple-A Memphis to start that day to afford the lefty some extra time to rest up and recover. According to Denton, Liberatore's back issue stems from a weightlifting session rather than from his most recent start last Wednesday, when he gave up six runs (five earned) over 4.1 innings in a loss to Oakland. Before falling flat against the last-place Athletics, Liberatore turned in the best start of his career Aug. 10, blanking the Rays over eight innings while striking out seven.

AUGUST 20, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Ambushed by A's Liberatore (2-5) took the loss Wednesday, surrendering six runs (five earned) on 10 hits and three walks over 4.1 innings as the Cardinals fell 8-0 to the A's. He struck out five.

Impact The rookie southpaw got little help from his teammates, but Liberatore did himself no favors as he got only 55 of 92 pitches into the strike zone, and his lack of command or control led to a four-run first inning for Oakland. He's had one good start and two poor ones since rejoining the big-league rotation after the trade deadline, and he's likely to remain a volatile fantasy option the rest of the season. Liberatore will carry a 6.12 ERA, 1.64 WHIP and 35:21 K:BB through 50 innings into his next outing, which is likely to come early next week in Pittsburgh.

AUGUST 17, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Sparkles against Rays Liberatore (2-4) earned the win over Tampa Bay on Thursday, pitching eight scoreless innings during which he allowed two hits and struck out seven batters.

Impact Liberatore had a 6.93 ERA coming into the contest, but he stifled the Rays' offense in the best start of his big-league career. The southpaw completed eight innings for the first time as a major-leaguer and allowed just two hits, both of which were singles. Liberatore has struggled thus far to get batters out at the highest level, so it remains to be seen if Thursday's gem will be a turning point. He's lined up for a prime matchup at home against Oakland in his next start.

AUGUST 11, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Liberatore shows vast improvement in gem vs. former team ST. PETERSBURG -- When Matthew Liberatore was working in the bullpen Tuesday, two days before he would face a Rays organization that drafted...

AUGUST 11, 2023 • MLB.COM

MLB roundup: Ex-Ray Matthew Liberatore carries Cards Matthew Liberatore showed why he was once ranked among baseball's top prospects, tossing eight shutout innings in the St. Louis Cardinals' 5...

AUGUST 11, 2023 • DEADSPIN.COM

Ex-Rays prospect Matthew Liberatore stars in Cards' win Matthew Liberatore showed why he was once ranked among baseball's top prospects, tossing eight shutout innings in the St. Louis Cardinals' 5...

AUGUST 11, 2023 • DEADSPIN.COM

Liberatore throws 8 scoreless innings in the Cardinals' 5-2 victory over the Rays

Matthew Liberatore didn’t allow a run in a career-best eight innings, Andrew Knizner and Tommy Edman homered and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-2 on Thursday nig...

AUGUST 11, 2023

Drawing another start Liberatore is scheduled to start Thursday's game against the Rays in Tampa Bay.

Impact Liberatore will get a second straight turn through the St. Louis rotation, facing off against the organization that drafted him with a first-round selection in 2018 before dealing him to the Cardinals in 2020. In his return from Triple-A Memphis this past weekend, Liberatore worked 5.2 innings in a losing effort against the Twins, giving up five runs on six hits and two walks while striking out one. With a 6.93 ERA, 1.78 WHIP and 8.5 K-BB% over 37.2 innings in the majors this season, Liberatore likely warrants attention just in NL-only leagues at this time.

AUGUST 7, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Struggles in return to rotation Liberatore (1-4) took the loss Thursday, allowing five runs on six hits and two walks over 5.2 innings against the Twins. He struck out one.

Impact Most of the damage against Liberatore came in the second inning when the Twins tagged him for four runs on a pair of homers. The 23-year-old left-hander's ERA is now up to 6.93 with a 1.78 WHIP and 23:18 K:BB across nine starts (37.2 innings) this season. Liberatore still does offer some upside and will remain in the Cardinals' rotation following the trades of Jack Flaherty and Jordan Montgomery. However, he remains too risky of an option for fantasy purposes.

AUGUST 4, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Matthew Liberatore's future one of many focal points as Cardinals pivot to 2024 Manager Oliver Marmol gave Liberatore a pep talk: "Let your shoulders drop. ... Just go out there, be yourself and actually let it eat."

AUGUST 4, 2023 • THEATHLETIC.COM

Joining rotation Thursday Liberatore is scheduled to start Thursday's game against the Twins, Joey Schneider of Fox 2 St. Louis reports.

Impact Liberatore is one of two new additions to the St. Louis rotation this week, as Dakota Hudson will also be picking up a start Wednesday as the Cardinals replace the outgoing Jordan Montgomery and Jack Flaherty, who were moved ahead of the trade deadline. After getting out to a hot start over the first month of the season at Triple-A Memphis, Liberatore has struggled to maintain that form while bouncing between the big leagues and minors since the beginning of May. He's been particularly unimpressive over his nine outings (eight starts) with St. Louis, accruing a 6.75 ERA, 1.84 WHIP and 3.8 K-BB% in 32 innings. Liberatore will still be worth holding in NL-only leagues since he'll have a fairly clear path to a starting role the rest of the way, but he'll need to show improved results before becoming a trusted lineup option in most deeper mixed leagues.

AUGUST 2, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Back in STL The Cardinals recalled Liberatore from Triple-A Memphis on Friday.

Impact Liberatore holds a 6.75 ERA and 1.84 WHIP through 32 innings in the majors this season, and his stats since being optioned July 6 haven't been much better. It's unclear whether Liberatore will work out of the bullpen or join the Cardinals' rotation, but he doesn't project to offer much fantasy value either way. Andrew Suarez was optioned to Memphis in a corresponding move.

JULY 28, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Optioned to Memphis St. Louis optioned Liberatore to Triple-A Memphis on Thursday.

Impact Liberatore recorded only one out in his last start Wednesday against the Marlins, ultimately being charged with four earned runs on five hits and one walk over 0.1 innings. The young left-hander heads back to the farm with an overall 6.75 ERA and 1.84 WHIP in 32 major-league frames for the year.

JULY 6, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Gets lit up in first inning Liberatore did not factor into the decision Wednesday, allowing four runs on five hits and one walk over one-third of an inning against the Marlins.

Impact Liberatore got shelled immediately Wednesday, surrendering four consecutive hits and a walk to open the bottom of the first before finally getting Jean Segura to fly out to left for the first out. The lefty then gave up another single to Dane Myers to make it a four-run inning for the Marlins before being relieved by Dakota Hudson. It was a disastrous outing for Liberatore after he hurled 2.2 scoreless innings against the Yankees in his first appearance this season on July 1.

JULY 6, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Drawing start Wednesday Liberatore will start for the Cardinals on Wednesday in Miami, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

Impact Prior reports suggested that the Cardinals would start Steven Matz, but they've instead decided to give the ball to Liberatore, who will be pitching on short rest. While Liberatore will be working on just three days' rest after starting Saturday versus the Yankees, he threw only 56 pitches in that outing. Liberatore hasn't gone more than 4.1 innings in any of his last three starts, holding a 6.75 ERA and 6:5 K:BB in 10.2 frames over that time.

JULY 5, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Loses in nightcap Liberatore (1-3) allowed three runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out just one over 4.1 innings, taking the loss in Game 2 of Saturday's doubleheader versus the Yankees.

Impact Liberatore has failed to complete five innings in four of his last five outings, and he's given up 12 runs (eight earned) across 10.2 innings in his last three starts. The southpaw was pushed back a day after Friday's rainout, but the extra rest didn't do him much good. With a 5.68 ERA, 1.67 WHIP and 22:15 K:BB over 31.2 innings through eight appearances this year, it's fair to question how much more leeway Liberatore has when it comes to staying in the Cardinals' rotation. He could ultimately swap spots with Steven Matz, who is currently in the bullpen, or the Cardinals may opt to bring up a starter from Triple-A Memphis, though no one on the farm is doing much to differentiate themselves. St. Louis will need a spot starter Wednesday due to this doubleheader, and it's possible Liberatore may not start again until after the All-Star break.

JULY 2, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Friday's start postponed Liberatore's scheduled start against the Yankees has been postponed due to inclement weather, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

Impact Liberatore was scheduled to square off against Luis Severino, but the rain in St. Louis will see that game scratched and made up with a doubleheader come Saturday. It's likely Severino will start one of the two games of that twin bill.

JULY 1, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

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Liberatore throws 8 scoreless innings in the Cardinals' 5-2 victory over the Rays