Cardinals: 5 players St. Louis may need to cut bait on

The Cardinals have decisions to make on the future of many different players this offseason, five of whom it may be time to cut bait on.

Going into the offseason, it is clear that the St. Louis Cardinals need to make changes to compete at a higher level in the National League next season. While the lineup is good, it still lacks the greatness of other’s around baseball. The pitching staff is good, but neither the rotation nor the bullpen are among the elite in today’s game.

In order to make the necessary improvements, the club will need to choose to cut bait with a few players this offseason to either upgrade the team, or do a bit of addition by subtraction. I have gone ahead and identified five different Cardinals who the club could choose to move on from this offseason for various reasons.

Tyler O’Neill

The first name is the most difficult name for me to consider, and I personally hope Tyler O’Neill is in the club’s starting outfield in 2023. But with Lars Nootbaar, Dylan Carlson, Juan Yepez, Alec Burleson, and Brendan Donovan on the roster and Jordan Walker knocking on the door, John Mozeliak is going to need to find some answers for the outfield logjam.

O’Neill does not carry the same value that he did coming into 2022 after an injury riddled and down year. Playing in just 96 games, O’Neill slashed .228/.308/.392 with 14 HR and 58 RBI on the season. Just one year removed from a top 10 finish in the NL MVP voting, O’Neill will have suitors around the league if the club shops him.

St. Louis could build up some more prospect depth with a trade of their 27-year old outfielder, or package him in a move for a need like starting pitcher. With O’Neill being the only arbitration eligible player of the outfielders I listed, this could also save St. Louis some money and allow them to continue the development of other young outfielders.

Personally, I would be nervous to sell this low on a guy who could be that third big bat the club needs next season, but I would not be surprised to see the front office deal O’Neill.

Alex Reyes

Like Tyler O’Neill, Alex Reyes was a breakout performer for much of 2021, but has taken major steps back over the last year.

Reyes was a National League All-Star in 2021 after a brilliant first half as the Cardinals closer. Even after struggling during the second half, Reyes still finished with a 3.24 ERA with 29 saves in 34 opportunities. But still, his unraveling was very concerning.

Reyes went on to famously give up the walk-off home run to Chris Taylor in the Wild Card Game and then missed all of 2022 with a shoulder injury. With a projected salary of $2.85 million and being one year away from free agency, both Reyes and St. Louis may desire changes of scenery in 2023.

Paul DeJong

Many fans and experts saw this coming from a mile away, but when the Cardinals relied on Paul DeJong to be the primary shortstop in 2022, things went horribly wrong.

DeJong slashed .157/.245/.286 with 6 HR and 25 RBI in 77 games for St. Louis. Even after an extended stint in AAA to work on his struggles, DeJong had an OPS of just .596 in his final 133 ABs. Most people could tell you before 2022 that DeJong’s time in St. Louis should be done, but that is now all but a certainty.

The Cardinals have Tommy Edman and Brendan Donovan who can handle shortstop duties, so there really is no reason to roster DeJong and his $9 million salary for the 2023 season. The best St. Louis can hope for with DeJong is that they are able to find a suitor for him if the Cardinals eat most of his salary. Otherwise, DeJong could just be released by St. Louis.

It is a sad ending to what was once a promising career for DeJong in St. Louis. A change of scenery could jumpstart his career again, but his time has run its course in this organization.

Dakota Hudson

After missing the majority of the 2021 season due to injury, the Cardinals were excited to see if Dakota Hudson could regain the momentum that he had found from 2018-2020. Hudson’s FIP always showed signs of regression, and 2022 was the culmination of that.

In 26 starts for St. Louis this past season, Hudson went 8-7 with a 4.45 ERA in 139.2 innings of work. Hudson’s hits per nine rose all the way up to 9.1 and walks per 9 to 3.9. The sheer volume of baserunners continued to get Hudson into trouble, and eventually St. Louis had to demote Hudson to AAA in hopes of him figuring things out.

Unfortunately, he did not. In what was potentially his last appearance in a Cardinals uniform, Hudson was chased after just 2.2 innings by the Pittsburgh Pirates after giving up 7 runs on 9 hits and 2 walks. Hudson’s lack of command just cannot be in a true contender’s rotation, and outside of a swingman role for St. Louis, Hudson really provides no further value.