The St. Louis Cardinals’ potential roster purge this winter

As the Kolten Wong decision and the Yadier Molina free agency have proven, it is certain that the St. Louis Cardinals will be facing hard choices this winter. As the end of an era could come falling down, nobody on this roster is truly “safe.”

When the St. Louis Cardinals announced that they would be declining second baseman Kolten Wong’s option for 2021 (a possibility I previously wrote about), it signaled a few things. One was that this could be the start of payroll trimming for the Cardinals after a season of lost attendance revenue. Another is that fan favorites will likely be on the move.

Fan reaction to the Wong decision was decidedly negative. Wong has been the team’s second baseman on a regular basis since 2014, and has a strong possibility to win his second consecutive Gold Glove award this season.

If you think that reaction was strong, wait until Yadier Molina signs elsewhere. Yes, I do believe that is where things are heading.

The Cardinals, if they do end up letting Molina and Adam Wainwright depart, will be a totally different team in 2021. It is hard to imagine someone else behind the plate and number 50 not toeing the rubber for the Redbirds. This offseason will likely be a catalyst for change.

What does all of this mean? Well, it means that with the exception of Jack Flaherty, Paul Goldschmidt, and probably Dylan Carlson, pretty much anyone on the roster could potentially be purged.

If the Cardinals are willing to let franchise icons Molina and/or Wainwright walk, and if they’re willing to allow elite defender Kolten Wong to test free agency, it means that almost nobody on the roster is untouchable. If the Cardinals let any or all of these players walk, that signals the end of an era of St. Louis Cardinals baseball.

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The team also lost infielder Max Schrock on waivers to the Chicago Cubs. The roster purge is underway.

My feeling is that the 2021 St. Louis Cardinals will be a drastically different ballclub. Even though payroll is likely to go down, I have a feeling the team will be active in the trade market and that the overflowing free agent market might present bargains later in the offseason.

I also recently wrote about how bringing back the coaching staff was a sign of complacency. After the Wong option was declined, my mind was changed. The Cardinals understand the need for changes, perhaps more so out of necessity than want.

The Cardinals will probably try to keep much of the roster intact, but with the economic situation and the undeniable need to upgrade the offense, some major changes could be coming.

As the Kolten Wong situation proves, they’re willing to walk away from fan favorites. If they let Molina depart, that shows they’re willing to turn the page on an era of Cardinals baseball.

The 2021 St. Louis Cardinals will likely follow the blueprint of Cardinals teams over the past decade-plus. Likely a winning record and likely (if circumstances allow) selling 3 million tickets. But as the very early offseason has already shown us, most players on this roster are not fully safe from the potential roster purge that is likely to play out over the next several months.