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

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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

The random assortment of arms - Casey Lawrence, Jacob Barnes, Kyle Leahy, and Andrew Suarez

I'm not sure everyone was mentally prepared for the Cardinals' pitching staff to take an even bigger dip after the trade deadline, and I really don't understand why. When you trade away five of your top internal arms (Jordan Montgomery, Jack Flaherty, Jordan Hicks, Chris Stratton, and Genesis Cabrera) and do not acquire replacements, it's going to get even uglier.

While I wish the Cardinals would have been more aggressive in the waiver wire and take flyers on interesting arms, I get why guys like Casey Lawrence, Jacob Barnes, Kyle Leahy, and Andrew Suarez are eating innings at the Major League level. The Cardinals were not going to make a run during the second half, and since most of their prospects were not MLB-ready yet, it wasn't worth throwing them to the wolves knowing they'd likely fail. Let some of these arms you do not have a long-term future get the innings.

After this season though, I'm not sure any of those arms have a reason to be on the 40-man roster.

Sure, maybe one could remain as a "break glass in case of emergency" type of pitcher, but otherwise, the Cardinals are going to need those 40-man spots. They already need to add three starting pitchers, and likely multiple bullpen arms as well, so there's really no point in having them on the 40-man roster.

Jose Fermin

Speaking of someone that I'm not sure there is a point to being on the 40-man roster in 2024, the Cardinals have a lot of middle infield depth on their roster, so I do not see Jose Fermin having any kind of role in 2024.

At shortstop, Masyn Winn and Tommy Edman will be the main guys for St. Louis, while Brendan Donovan could play there in a pinch if needed too. At second base, Nolan Gorman will hold down the fort with guys like Edman, Donovan, and Palacios providing depth as well. In Triple-A, Thomas Saggese, César Prieto, Nick Dunn, and Irving Lopez all have arguments to play over Fermin as well.

I hope Fermin can latch on with another organization in 2024, but his future in St. Louis seems to be over once the season ends.

Dakota Hudson

Not that long ago, it looked like Dakota Hudson was pitching himself into being a candidate for the back-end of the rotation, Cardinals' bullpen, or next man up for St. Louis in 2024.

Since that hot stretch when he rejoined the Cardinals rotation, Hudson is struggling again, and I'm not sure it makes a ton of sense to keep him for the 2024 season. The biggest reason why has to do with his contract.

Hudson is making $2.65 million this year and is entering his last year of arbitration this offseason, where that will jump to north of $3 million at the minimum. Every dollar is going to count for St. Louis this offseason, so trading or non-tendering Hudson to add salary flexibility makes a lot of sense.

Drew Rom and Matthew Liberatore will both make less than $1 million next year, and other internal arms can fight for those depth innings as well. Rather than paying Hudson to be one of the names in that mix, they could put that $3 million toward a bullpen piece that may be more impactful for them in 2024 than Hudson could be.

Tyler O'Neill

It feels likely that we have seen the last of Tyler O'Neill in a Cardinals uniform. I was always a huge O'Neill guy, as he has all of the talent in the world, but was only able to put it together for the 2021 season.

Since that top-10 MVP finish, O'Neill played in just 168 games over the last two seasons, slashing .229/.310/.397 and looking like a shell of himself. I really do believe that O'Neill could blossom once again at the big league level, but I don't see that happening while he is a member of the Cardinals.

Like Dakota Hudson, O'Neill is in his final year of arbitration, and after making $4.95 million this year, that number will likely rise to $6 million or more in 2024. That's just too much to pay a guy who isn't even in your top 3 outfielders anymore and you cannot trust to stay on the field. Trading or non-tendering O'Neill will add to the salary flexibility needed to revamp this pitching staff.

Connor Thomas

Connor Thomas seemed to be knocking on the door of the Major Leagues after the 2022 season but has struggled in a big way this season, posting a 5.50 ERA in his age-25 season.

Maybe Thomas can be that true depth arm on the 40-man roster that functions as a call-up when there are not enough arms available or they need another guy for a doubleheader, but other than that, he seems like a guy who's fallen too far down the pecking order. Gordon Graceffo, Michael McGreevy, Sem Robberse, and Adam Kloffenstein would all get starts in St. Louis before Thomas if need be.

Thomas is a left-handed option though, so he could find a way to make an impact out of the bullpen next season instead. But with JoJo Romero, Packy Naughton, Matthew Liberatore, and possibly Zack Thompson all present as well, I'm not sure he can land there either.

I think at some point this offseason, the 40-man roster is going to feel the squeeze, and Thomas will find his way off of it.

Moises Gomez

Moises Gomez is such an interesting player. After slugging 39 home runs in 2022, he's hit another 30 in Memphis this year but saw his OPS dip from .955 to .749 after huge drops in his average, on-base, and slugging percentage. When Gomez hits the ball, he hits it hard, but he doesn't make contact nearly enough to be the force you'd hope he can be.

Gomez doesn't provide enough on defense for the Cardinals to consider him on their active roster either. He's a corner outfielder, but I do not see him surpassing Walker, Nootbaar, Carlson, Burleson, Palacios, or Donovan for playing time out there. His bat also isn't good enough to sneak into the DH role for the Cardinals either.

Maybe Gomez can unleash some of that power with another organization and carve out an important role elsewhere, but those opportunities are not coming in St. Louis. If they were, they would have already happened.

Juniel Querecuto

Similar to Jose Fermin, Juniel Querecuto is a fine depth piece when your season is washed, but for a team trying to compete next year, his role is obsolete.

At 31 years old, they aren't waiting for him to blossom as a player filled with potential. He is 0-11 in St. Louis this year, and he doesn't give the Cardinals any advantages defensively as well. He primarily plays third base and second base, two positions that the Cardinals have no need for more depth at.

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Even if the Cardinals do not think Saggese, Prieto, Dunn, or others are ready for big league action come Opening Day, Querecuto is so far down the pecking order depth-wise that the Cardinals do not need to roster him. By the time his spot would be called upon, I'm sure one of those promising internal options could answer that call.

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