Mathews could be used at times in a piggyback role with Kyle Leahy down the stretch, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.
The Cardinals plan to curtail Leahy's workload, and Mathews should be the biggest beneficiary. It's unclear what exactly that will look like, but it could be piggyback starts, spot starts or perhaps the implementation of a six-man rotation. Mathews has made two starts for the Cardinals this year, yielding three runs with a 10:6 K:BB over nine innings. The left-hander has logged a 3.27 ERA and 120:61 K:BB over 99 innings covering 21 starts at Triple-A Memphis in 2026.