8 former fan-favorite Cardinals players without a job as Spring Training nears

6) Shelby Miller

It is honestly hard for me to believe that Shelby Miller has had to reinvent himself as a reliever over the last five or so seasons of his career. Most Cardinals fans will remember just how dominant of a starting pitcher he was for them in the early 2010s.

During his rookie campaign in 2013, Miller was a huge reason the Cardinals went to the World Series that year. Miller finished third in Rookie of the Year voting, posting a 3.06 ERA with 169 strikeouts in 173.1 innings of work. Miller made good on his top prospect pedigree and followed his rookie campaign up with a really solid year in 2014 where he posted a 3.74 ERA in 31 starts.

After the Cardinals traded him to the Atlanta Braves leading into 2015 for Jason Heyward, Miller regained his status as one of the best young starters in baseball, earning an All-Star appearance and posting a career-best 3.02 ERA in 33 starts. Miller was riding high on the mound once again, and this led the rebuilding Braves to trade him to the Arizona Diamondbacks for recent number one overall pick, Dansby Swanson.

Unfortunately, Miller experienced a freak injury in his first year with the Diamondbacks, and it really seemed to derail his career. After that moment, Miller was basically unplayable as a starter and eventually had to try and make his way as a reliever.

Miller showed signs of promise out of the bullpen with the Giants in 2022 despite the small sample size and high ERA, and after the Dodgers took a chance on him the following offseason, Miller posted a 1.71 ERA in 42 innings for Los Angeles. While Miller wasn't nearly as effective with Detroit in 2024, I do think there's a good chance he lands in someone's bullpen this offseason.