CINCINNATI -- To react at all to the early results from Cardinals starter Kyle Leahy was to overreact to them.
Even as Leahy had a 5.52 ERA at the end of April of his first full season as a big league starter, this was a point on which Cardinals brass was steadfast.
They didn’t let the noise infiltrate. Converting Leahy from one of the team’s most valuable relievers into a starting role wasn’t done on a whim, so they were going to see it through.
The events that followed Leahy’s early turbulence have vindicated the club’s position. Leahy has been one of the most successful starters in the league over the past two months, posting a 1.38 ERA across his past 10 starts.
Yet, there was Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol on Wednesday afternoon, sitting in the manager’s office of the visitors' clubhouse at Great American Ball Park, once again fielding questions about the status of Leahy’s role in the rotation.
This time, though, the matter of his effectiveness couldn’t be less relevant.
It’s the workload.
The most productive member of the Cardinals’ rotation has already pitched more innings in 2026 than in any other season of his Major League career. Following five scoreless frames Tuesday, Leahy is up to 122 1/3 innings in 2026.
Last season, he threw 88 innings.
So, even as Leahy’s results continue looking as good as ever, the Cardinals are prepared for the ways in which they may need to adjust how they use him.
“I think there’s a path to continuing as a starter and then tapering it off into the bullpen in order to get to where you want to get to when the regular season comes to completion,” Marmol said Wednesday.
As of pregame Wednesday, the Cardinals haven’t spelled out their pitching plan for the series that begins Friday in Philadelphia. To be clear, there’s no indication as to that being directly connected to Leahy; Marmol’s answer seems to imply more starts for Leahy before the possibility of a subsequent shift as a load management mechanism down the stretch.
However, it’s worth noting that left-handed starter Quinn Mathews (the club's No. 8 prospect) is eligible to return to St. Louis' roster as soon as the Cardinals want to deploy him. Though he pitched in Game 1 of Monday’s doubleheader in Cincinnati, he appeared as the 27th man assigned to the active roster for that day. That means the club doesn’t have to wait 15 days to bring him back, as would be required after a standard pitcher option back to the Minors.
Continuing to strategically position Mathews as an occasional sixth starter -- as the Cardinals have done with Steven Matz, Michael McGreevy and Hunter Dobbins at various points over the past two seasons -- is ostensibly another avenue to help space out Leahy’s appearances to keep him on track from an innings perspective.
Though Leahy is aware of the conversation surrounding his workload, it’s not something he’s putting any focus into until he’s told otherwise.
“It’s not a secret,” Leahy said. “They’re trying to -- I don’t know the right word, but yeah. I don’t really want to hear it. I respect whatever they decide and what they’re trying to do. I’m thankful that they value my health. Obviously, I’m grateful for that. I’m just trying to take the ball every five days and do the best with my opportunities -- and then we’ll see where it ends up at the end of the year.”
Of course, in the periphery of this conversation is the endpoint of the Cardinals’ year being presently undefined.
Prior to Wednesday’s game in Cincinnati, St. Louis was 2 1/2 games back of the Padres for the third NL Wild Card spot. The Cards have won four straight series, and they took two of the first three against the Reds this week.
How quickly the narrative has shifted. In April, some wondered whether the Cardinals could afford to keep Leahy in the rotation. But now?
Could a version of the Cardinals that ends up being postseason-bound afford to take him out of it?
“Such a good challenge, right? Like, that first month of Leahy, right?” Marmol said with a knowing look. “We’re sitting here asking about having him available for October. Which is a pretty cool question and conversation to have based on what some of the narrative was coming out of Spring Training and the first month of what we saw compared to that.
“So, I’m more than happy to answer that question. Yeah, we’re being very thoughtful about it.”