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

As things currently stand, the Cardinals have a lot of unnecessary players on their 40-man roster

St. Louis Cardinals v Philadelphia Phillies
St. Louis Cardinals v Philadelphia Phillies | Rich Schultz/GettyImages
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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.

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