Cardinals decline club options for all three eligible candidates as offseason begins

With the World Series coming to a close on Wednesday night, the offseason has officially kicked off. The first item of business was for teams and players to handle options for 2025 contracts. The St. Louis Cardinals had club options attached to the contracts of Kyle Gibson, Lance Lynn and Keynan Middleton.

According to Derrick Goold, the team has declined all three options. Each player will receive a $1-million buyout as a result.

It was expected by most pundits and fans that the options would be declined given the organization's stated direction for the foreseeable future. The club is looking to get younger and cheaper while the DeWitt family navigates a confounding Regional Sports Network situation and the development of a pitching lab in Palm Beach.

In 2024, Kyle Gibson threw 169 2/3 innings with a 4.24 ERA, 151 strikeouts and a 0.9 bWAR. He was exactly what the Cardinals wanted and expected. Gibson's July and August were rough, but he maintained an ERA below 4.00 in his 19 starts beyond those two months.

Lance Lynn threw only 117 1/3 innings in 2024 and struck out 109 batters. He finished with a 3.84 ERA in 23 starts. While the organization would have liked to see more innings out of the veteran righty, the games in which he did pitch were quite successful.

Keynan Middleton signed a one-year deal worth $5 million in 2024, but he was hurt all year. The Cardinals didn't get a chance to see their reliever pitch in 2024, and they didn't see much value in his $6 million contract for 2025.

It is surprising to see all three options declined. This leaves the Cardinals with less of a guarantee in their starting rotation despite making space for young players to shine. Sonny Gray, Erick Fedde, Andre Pallante, Miles Mikolas, Steven Matz, and Michael McGreevy appear to be the six primary starting pitchers for next year with Gordon Graceffo, Zack Thompson, and Drew Rom waiting in the wings. The fast-rising Quinn Mathews could also contend for a starting spot out of spring, but that feels like a stretch.

Cutting bait with these three pitchers saves the club nearly $30 million in salary. Pair that with the other $35 million coming off the books between Paul Goldschmidt, Andrew Kittredge, and Matt Carpenter, and one can see the direction of the organization.

The Cardinals have also been rumored to be shopping their players with guaranteed contracts in 2025, including Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras, Nolan Arenado, Ryan Helsley, and Steven Matz. It's not out of the realm of possibility that one or more of those players are dealt this offseason, thus lowering the payroll even further.

Expect a 26-man roster that is young, relatively unproven, and cost-effective for 2025. The pressure on the organization's up-and-coming players is growing with each transaction this offseason. More cost-cutting moves should be expected between now and the start of spring training.