14 Cardinals who won't survive Chaim Bloom's offseason overhaul

Roddery Munoz and Jorge Alcala

Two right-handed relievers who are currently on the Cardinals' 40-man roster, Roddery Munoz and Jorge Alcala could be kept around as depth arms, but since the Cardinals are going to have to carry multiple injured arms on their 40-man roster this offseason, I'm guessing Bloom will need to cut bait with both of them during the winter to make the most of their roster prior to the season.

Munoz was an offseason pick-up by the Cardinals, someone who made starts for the Miami Marlins in 2024 and had interesting stuff that the Cardinals hoped would play well in their bullpen, or even be a swing man option for them if needed. Instead, Munoz was terrible.

In nine games for the club this year, Munoz posted an 8.18 ERA in 11 innings of work, and while he was able to strike out 11.45 batters per nine innings, his 7.36 BB/9 was unplayable. He also received the benefit of a .208 BABIP against him, so you could argue that things should have been even worse. Munoz is now a -1.9 fWAR player for his career, so unless Bloom really sees something in him, I'm guessing the 25-year-old isn't sticking on the 40-man roster.

Alcala was acquired on waivers from Boston in August, but he didn't arrive to the Red Sox until 2025, so he doesn't have connections to Bloom. Prior to 2025, Alcala had posted a few really solid seasons in 2020, 2021, and 2024 for the Twins, as well as pitching well for the Red Sox in 16.1 innings of work prior to being designated for an assignment. In his 14.1 innings with St. Louis, though, Alcala posted a 5.02 ERA and 6.14 FIP, and his 9.42 K/9 was pretty good but far from impressive.

At 30 years old, entering another year of arbitration, and already making $1.5 million, I do not foresee the Cardinals giving him a raise this offseason, so he seems like a clear candidate to be non-tendered early in the offseason. With how bad the Cardinals' pitching has been over the last few years, I'm sure Bloom will want to bring in as many of his own arms as he can.