Five players the St. Louis Cardinals need to prove it or else will lose it

Do not expect the St. Louis Cardinals to be active this winter in favor of competing. The team is turning the page on the Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado chapter and starting the next chapter with the current young core. With the Dodgers dominating the sport for what looks to be years to come, it is a great time to hit the reset button. But more importantly, it is a great time to see if your current core is truly made for the organization or if it is time to move on.

With the impending reset ahead, here are five players who absolutely must prove themselves in 2025, or else they will be removed from the team's future plans.

1. Nolan Gorman

Nolan Gorman was supposed to take a giant step forward in 2024. After redeveloping himself as the future second baseman of the team following the Nolan Arenado trade, Gorman has regressed the hardest of anyone on the team.

In 2023 as a second baseman, he put up a 116 OPS+ with 27 homers and a 2.4 WAR. This is a very impressive season for a 23-year-old who switched positions abruptly. But to follow this up in 2024, Gorman put up an 85 OPS+ with only 19 homers, 0.3 WAR, and a whopping 151 strikeouts. Having a 37.6 SO% will not keep you in the majors. We saw this in 2024 when he got demoted to Memphis.

With JJ Weatherholt and Thomas Saggese on the rise in addition to Brendan Donovan filling in the gap, Gorman is becoming expendable. If he wants to avoid the trading block, he needs to have a big comeback season in 2025.

2. Jordan Walker

Walker is in a very similar predicament as Gorman. He has been demoted twice for his lack of offensive production and continues to struggle lifting the ball to produce reliable power. The organization can not decide whether to use him as a platoon player or give him full playing time at the majors to figure out his struggles.

With hitting being the strength of his game, Walker provides no other value to the team. His outfield defense is a major liability and he has had no reps in the infield in years. If the Cardinals move on from Nolan Arenado, Walker can possibly find an opportunity to win the third base job. But until he figures out how to produce with the bat, he serves no purpose to the Cardinals roster going forward.

3. Matthew Liberatore

The upcoming reset is out to prove who is a fit in the roster depth chart. The Cardinals have a plethora of pitching prospects out to win their respective roster spots. Now is the time for Matthew Liberatore to prove if he is a starter going forward, or if he needs to change his career trajectory as a long relief pitcher.

Liberatore has been given chance after chance to provide innings as a starter when the team needs them. Liberatore falls flat on his face with every opportunity and now the team does not trust him as a starter. When he is in as a reliever, he has looked very effective and this might have opened a new role for him. But with players like Tink Hence, Quinn Matthews, Tekoah Roby, and Michael McGreevy coming for the rotation, it is the last shot for Liberatore to establish himself as a starter for this team.

4. Lars Nootbaar

The fan favorite is a fan favorite for a reason. Lars Nootbaar's energy and clubhouse presence provide a spark for his teammates and also bring the best out of the fans at Busch Stadium. The only issue is that fans are not coming to Busch Stadium anymore due to the team being mediocre or bad.

Players like Nootbaar do not help turn this corner for the team. Nootbaar has a fun name but his production has already reached its ceiling. Most players continue to develop through their arbitration years, but Nootbaar's ceiling is the same height as his floor. Year in and year out he closely matches his career averages in every statistical category. His OPS+ in 2023 was 111 with 12 home runs and a 1.4 WAR in 109 games which is not terrible. But his career average for OPS+ is 113, home runs is 11, and games played is 98. Noot cannot stay healthy and he is not providing enough damage to remain a regular starting player. He needs to take a large step going forward or else the Cardinals will be exploring other options for the outfield.

5. Gordon Graceffo

This might be the biggest disappointment in the entire organization. Graceffo reached the top ten in Cardinals prospect lists and was expected to be one of the more reliable pitching prospects to hopefully turn the fate of failed pitching prospects.

But when he was given chances in St. Louis, it became a giant dud. In 7.2 IP, he gave up 7 hits, 4 ER, and left with a 93 ERA+. Some might say that he only pitched 7 innings and that is not enough to make a case for him being a failed prospect. In 2023 and 2024, Graceffo was rocking an ERA in the very high 4.00's and a WHIP in the 1.500's. He has not figured it out in the Minor Leagues or the Major Leagues. If he cannot figure it out in 2025, he will have to figure it out in a different organization.