10 players on Cardinals' 40-man roster who don't deserve a role in 2024

The St. Louis Cardinals are going to be trying to overhaul their pitching staff this offseason, which is no small task.

As things currently stand, there are not many names I feel confident in within their organization to be contributors come Opening Day for their rotation or bullpen. As we all know though, contending teams need even more arms than just the ones that will make that roster, as injuries and bad performances reshape a staff throughout the year.

As things currently stand, the Cardinals have a full 40-man roster, and have an additional four players who will have to be added to that list once their 60-day IL stint is over. If the Cardinals are going to add a ton of pitching this offseason, they are going to have to clear up plenty of space on the 40-man roster to do so.

While you could make an argument for even more names to be added to this list, I've identified 10 players who I think should be removed from the 40-man roster this offseason. Let's take a look at who should go this offseason.

The free agent departures who'll help clear spaces

While the Cardinals already traded away the majority of their impending free agents, there are still two names who will leave the 40-man roster at season's end as their contracts expire.

The first is Adam Wainwright, who will be retiring after this season as a Cardinals legend. He finally achieved his goal of 200 career wins, and although we'll all miss Wainwright, it's clear that he is out of gas and his playing career is over.

The other name is Drew VerHagen, who has been a serviceable reliever this season for St. Louis. They could decide to bring him back into the fold as a familiar arm that can provide bullpen depth, but for now, it's likely he's pitching somewhere else in 2024.

Here are the 10 players who should not be on the Cardinals' 40-man roster in 2024