Cardinals have a precedent for trading players like Miles Mikolas

2024 was supposed to be a resurgent year for right-handed starter Miles Mikolas. Following a brief stint in Japan from 2015-2018, the St. Louis Cardinals signed him to a contract and then extended him in the 2022-2023 offseason due to the successes he had in 2018 and 2022.

2023 didn't go the way Mikolas wanted to, as he finished with a 9-13 record, a 4.78 ERA, and a league-leading 226 hits allowed and 107 runs allowed. He made 35 starts and threw over 200 innings, but those innings weren't strong enough.

The hope for 2024 was that Mikolas would be able to tap back into what made him successful in 2018 and 2022. He was always reliable and good for at least 30 starts, but his output in those starts was beginning to lessen.

Mikolas finished 2024 with a 10-11 record, a 5.35 ERA and a 4.24 FIP in 32 starts and 171.2 innings. His ERA was the third-worst in all of baseball among qualified starting pitchers behind only Patrick Corbin of the Washington Nationals and Griffin Canning of the Los Angeles Angels.

Despite these poor numbers, the Cardinals were intent on running out Mikolas every five days.

There was -- and certainly still is -- an argument for trading or cutting Miles Mikolas regardless of the cost, be it financial or personnel. The St. Louis Cardinals, with Sonny Gray, Erick Fedde, Andre Pallante, Michael McGreevy, and Steven Matz pegged as starting pitching options, don't need Miles Mikolas to fill a spot in 2025. They could also bring back one of Kyle Gibson or Lance Lynn via club options. Behind this assortment of starters lay prospects Zack Thompson, Sem Robberse, Drew Rom, and Quinn Mathews. There isn't much of a shortage of starting pitching options for the Cardinals next year.

Therefore, cutting Miles Mikolas makes total sense.

While this may not feel like a "Cardinals" move, cutting a veteran player with a guaranteed contract, there is a precedent in recent years for players like this.

The St. Louis Cardinals signed starting pitcher Mike Leake to a five-year, $80 million contract before the 2016 season. After one-and-a-half years of underperformance, the Cardinals found it wise to cut bait with Leake in the summer of 2017. They traded Leake and his remaining 3.5 years of control to the Seattle Mariners for prospect Rayder Ascanio. St. Louis also sent $17 million to help cover the cost of Mike Leake's contract. Prospect Jack Flaherty would replace Leake in the rotation.

In the 2020-2021 offseason, the Cardinals traded outfielder Dexter Fowler to the Los Angeles Angels just four years after signing him as a free agent. St. Louis also sent $12.75 million to help offset the remaining $14.5 million of Fowler's contract. What made this move easier to do was the ascension of top prospect Dylan Carlson. Carlson could supplant Fowler handily.

Miles Mikolas is on the books for just over $18.5 million in 2025. Trading him will certainly require an additional prospect, money, or a combination of the two. However, the Cardinals have a precedent when it comes to deals like this. What makes this deal even more similar to the two previous ones would be prospect Quinn Mathews. After flying through the minors in 2024, Mathews appears poised to make the major league squad at some point in 2025. Trading Mikolas opens up a spot for the club's top pitching prospect.

Trading Mikolas, regardless of the cost this offseason, would be wise to do. He has more value off the team than he does on it at this point.