Cardinals: Projected salaries of arbitration eligible players

The Cardinals find themselves with eleven arbitration eligible players this offseason.

The St. Louis Cardinals are entering their offseason, and have plenty of decisions to make regarding the future of their club. With the retirements of Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina as well as a few impending free agents, the roster will look different in some shape or form going into 2023.

Something that is important to note when projecting moves for the Cardinals this offseason is the projected arbitration numbers for their club. Ten players in total are arbitration eligible for St. Louis (tied for 10th most in baseball), and MLB Trade Rumors just came out with their projected salaries for the bunch.

Salary arbitration means raises for 11 different Cardinals, which eats away at some of the projected salary room that the club has going into the offseason. The majority of the names on this list will return to the club in 2023, but there are a few names to note as potential trade chips or non-tender candidates.

Tyler O’Neill is the biggest name in that grouping. After an injury riddled 2022 that saw him struggle when he was on the field, the club may decide to move on from the 27-year old. I personally believe the club should hold onto O’Neill, but this past season makes it a legit conversation.

Other arbitration eligible players who could find homes elsewhere include Dakota Hudson and Alex Reyes. The former struggled in his first full season back with St. Louis and fell out of favor with the club down the stretch, and the latter missed all of 2022 with a shoulder injury.

However the club proceeds with these players will dictate a lot of the moves they can make this offseason. Some of these players could receive extensions, others could be moved on from, and some will end up in arbitration with the club.