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15 St. Louis Cardinals players who won't be back next season
The Cardinals roster is going to have a ton of turnover this offseason, and these 15 names will not be returning as a result of it.
Now that the 2023 season is over, the St. Louis Cardinals are preparing for a very active offseason, one that involves making many new additions to the club, and as a result, many subtractions as well.
Manager Oli Marmol has already made some noise in this regard, saying there are guys in the clubhouse who he believes need to be "weeded out" so they can have a team that is solely focused on winning a championship. Those are some strong words from Marmol and add to the pressure he will be under in 2024.
Even beyond some guys with personality issues that the Cardinals may feel the need to move on from, there are also plenty of other players who are going to be facing non-tenders or trades this offseason for a variety of reasons. There are players who just need a change of scenery, some who the club has a redundance of talent at their position, some who carry more value to St. Louis as a trade chip than as a contributor next year, and frankly, some guys who just have not been good enough to warrant a spot in the organization.
That's not to say that a lot of these names can't fit somewhere else. There are plenty of guys who come to St. Louis because they did not have a fit in their organization (recent example, Richie Palacios) and find success here, and there are guys (such as Adolis Garica) who no organization in baseball wanted, and then ended up becoming an All-Star with the Rangers. Just for whatever reason, that future is not going to be with the Cardinals organization.
Here are 15 different players who will not be back with the Cardinals next season
Tyler O'Neill
I say this a lot, but I was a huge fan of Tyler O'Neill for most of his Cardinals' career, and I still believe he can be an impact talent at the Major League level. Even so, it is clear that he will not be back with the Cardinals in 2024.
That's the right decision as well. O'Neill just does not play enough games to continue to roster, and even since his breakout in 2021, he's been an average player at best. When he's not on the IL, there are issues with him being scratched from lineups and not feeling ready to play, and I just do not see the Cardinals dealing with that again next year.
He's due an arbitration raise this offseason, which would likely be around $6 million or so for the 2024 season. Honestly, unless the Cardinals have a suitor lineup up early in the offseason to trade for O'Neill, my guess is they non-tender him to save that money from their books to spend toward starting pitching.
Jake Woodford
Jake Woodford had a disappointing 2023 season. After earning a rotation spot to start the season while Adam Wainwright was on the IL, Woodford never found his footing, and finished the year appearing in just 15 games for St. Louis with a 6.23 ERA, and finished the year in the Flordia Complex League.
RHP James Naile has been recalled from Memphis (AAA).
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) September 30, 2023
RHP Jake Woodford has been optioned to the FCL. pic.twitter.com/AzD8Ve1uuo
If Woodford was still a pre-arbitration player, I'd feel pretty confident that he'd get a shot to figure things out this offseason and come back ready to prove himself in Spring Training. But this offseason, he'll be hitting arbitration, and although that number won't be super high, it'll be significant enough that I think the Cardinals would rather rely on their internal depth options than keep Woodford.
Zack Thompson, Matthew Liberatore, Drew Rom, Gordon Graceffo, Michael McGreevy, Adam Kloffenstein, and Sem Robberse all have stronger arguments to be the "next man up" over Woodford in the rotatoin. Unless the Cardinals see a way to transition him into a full-time reliever this offseason, I think he'll be non-tendered here soon.
Juan Yepez
After being a bright spot for the Cardinals during the 2022 season, St. Louis has done nothing but mishandle Juan Yepez's situation this year, and it's time for a change of scenery for both sides.
Yepez can still be a valuable bat in this league, but it's time for him to get consistent playing time on a big-league roster to prove whether or not he can be that guy long-term. He finished his Triple-A campaign on a tear this year and has already proven himself in some of the biggest moments at the Major League level.
For the Cardinals, there's not really a clear spot for Yepez to play with the mix of veteran and young talent they are prioritizing. While I don't fault them for that, what I do not understand is how they did not foresee that in the 2022 offseason, and traded Yepez then to maximize his value. Instead, they wasted an opportunity to improve as a club and wasted a year of Yepez's development.
Juniel Querecuto
After the trade deadline, it was clear that the remainder of the season was going to be a mix of getting young players opportunities in St. Louis, and just "finishing out" the season with whatever guys could fill innings or at-bats. Juniel Querecuto was the latter in this case and did not show enough to warrant anything more than that.
In his 20 at-bats for St. Louis, he posted a .100/.143/.150 slash line, and at age 31 with not a ton of defensive ability, he's not a guy who the Cardinals are going to roster in 2024 or beyond. I don't really see a point in him being on the 40-man roster in Triple-A either.
Querecuto will likely be non-tendered by St. Louis, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him latch on with another club and try to make an impact there. It was his first shot at the Major League level since 2016, so there may be a team that gives him one more chance in 2024.
Drew VerHagen
I'm not sure why, but Drew VerHagen seems to be cast off as a part of the Cardinals' problems in 2023, and while I don't think he was great, he was a serviceable reliever who will find a spot in the middle-innings for a big league club in 2024.
In 60 games for St. Louis, VerHagen was 5-1 with a 3.98 ERA, providing them with an arm that could be called upon throughout the year, giving them a mix of high-leverage innings when needed, and filling out those middle innings otherwise.
I see a world where VerHagen is back with the Cardinals next year on a new deal, but in all likelihood, another team will likely swoop him up this offseason. He has really good stuff, so a team like the Dodgers, Rays, or another tech-savvy team will want to get their hands on him on a cheap deal.
Jose Fermin
Unlike Juniel Querecuto, Fermin is still very young and should have no problem finding an organization that wants to have him around as organizational depth. As for the Cardinals, I just see too many names in front of him for them to bring him back.
Masyn Winn, Nolan Gorman, Brendan Donovan, Tommy Edman, and Richie Palacios would all get reps at shortstop and second base ahead of Fermin, and the emergence of Thomas Saggese means there's another player needing significant playing time who is knocking on the door of the big leagues. While they could still keep him around as insurance, they also have names like Irving Lopez, Nick Dunn, and Kramer Robertson who can provide that.
Fermin just has not done enough at the big league level this year to warrant consideration again. He slashed .235/.339/.255 on the season with 0 HR and 4 RBI, and while he's a capable defender, he's not special enough to fight for playing time with the names above. I do expect him to find a role elsewhere though.
James Naile
Every year, there is a player who is caught between St. Louis and Memphis in a way that really isn't fair to the player, and in 2023, it was James Naile.
Naile got to pitch in 10 games for the Cardinals this year, and it did not go over well. He posted an 8.80 ERA in 15.1 innings of work, striking out just seven batters and having a 2.35 WHIP as well. In his 9 innings of work with St. Louis in 2022, he wasn't much better, posting a 5.00 ERA.
Naile is 30 years old, and there's not really anything left for him to do in Memphis to prove he's worthy of Major League consideration, and he hasn't done anything in St. Louis that warrants staying there. Sure, he could function as that "worst-case-scenario" arm in 2024, but I would guess the Cardinals decide to move on in favor of younger arms.
Casey Lawrence
Casey Lawrence was signed during the season to provide pitching depth for St. Louis, something they especially needed after trading some of their most impactful arms at the deadline and continuing to have other arms go down with injuries.
Lawrence did his job, appearing in 15 games and giving the Cardinals 27.1 innings of work. The problem was, that it came with a 6.59 ERA, and at age 35, this may be his last big league stop.
In 124 career innings at the Major League level, he's posted a 6.75 ERA, so it's hard to justify him being anything more than an innings eater for a team that is just trying to fill out games late in a season that is already lost. Maybe there is a resurgence coming, but my guess is that would have to happen somewhere other than St. Louis.
Luken Baker
Here is a really unique situation. Luken Baker was one of the best players in all of MiLB this past year, and he is constantly being named to All-MiLB first teams from different scouting outlets. He was not a highly regarded prospect this year, but did nothing but mash, and got some opportunities in St. Louis because of that.
Unfortunately, he didn't do much with those at-bats, posting a .627 OPS during his time with the Cardinals this year. Much like Juan Yepez, there just really isn't a clear path toward those at-bats coming, but his performance in Triple-A warrants a legit opportunity in the Major Leagues.
So what should St. Louis do? Unless they plan on trading some of their highly valued position players this offseason for pitching, Baker should be a part of trade packages to improve their pitching staff. Baker won't headline a deal that brings back significant pitching in return, but he could be one of those extra pieces that a club gets to take a flyer on for potentially a high reward.
Andrew Suarez
While it's not clear who the Cardinals will rely on from the left side out of their bullpen in 2024, Andrew Suarez will not be a part of that conversation.
In 13 games, Suarez posted a 7.16 ERA in 27.2 innings of work, and over the course of four seasons in the Majors, he's sitting on a career 4.96 ERA.
John King and JoJo Romero are the two front runners for left-handed bullpen opportunities in 2024, while names like Zack Thompson, Matthew Liberatore, or Drew Rom could factor in as well. I also imagine that St. Louis will target a left-handed veteran in their efforts to rebuild their bullpen this offseason, so I do not see why Suarez would return in any capacity for them.
Taylor Motter
In what became a common occurrence in 2023, Taylor Motter would struggle for the Cardinals, be designated for an assignment, pass through waivers, and either sign a minor-league contract or be optioned to Triple-A.
In 29 games for the Cardinals, Motter slashed .171/.232/.211 with 0 HR and 2 RBI. He turned some heads in Spring Training and won the 26th man roster spot, but the regular seaosn was not kind to him.
Motter has bounced around the league a ton, but at every big league stop he's had, Motter has never posted above a .590 OPS, which came in his rookie season in 2016. While Motter appears to be a great veteran to have around and will likely land somewhere, the Cardinals' middle infield depth rules them out as a potential return.
Kyle Leahy
This isn't really fair to Kyle Leahy, but his first three big league games were not good, and I don't see him getting another shot for the Cardinals in 2024.
Maybe they can hang onto him as a guy they can use in desperate situations, or possibly they seem more room for growth with him, but his three games this year saw him never complete a full inning of work. In total, his 21.60 ERA in 1.2 innings just wasn't good enough, and you could tell he was overmatched on the mound.
Mercifully, the #STLCards get rookie Kyle Leahy out of this game in the bottom of the seventh inning. He surrendered a triple off the wall, hit Patrick Wisdom in the head and walked two #Cubs.
— John Denton (@JohnDenton555) July 21, 2023
STL 7, CHC 2
Leahy is just 26 years old, so I imagine this isn't the end of his career by any means, but I'm not confident that it will continue with the Cardinals.
Jacob Barnes
The last arm on this list that fits the bill of "covering innings for a terrible team", Jacob Barnes was brought in to fill gaps they had on their staff and did so over his 13 games with the Cardinals.
Like the other names on this list, it did not go well, posting a 5.93 ERA, looking more like the guy he was with the Los Angeles Angles, New York Mets, Toronto Blue Jays, Detroit Tigers, and New York Yankees from 2019-2022 than he was with the Brewers when he first came up to the Major Leagues. He's a veteran bullpen arm at this point who has been off his last number of stops.
Will this be the final chapter in his career? Possibly. But there is something about Barnes that has kept getting him opportunities in the Major Leagues, so he could find another role with a club this offseason.
Moises Gomez
After an awesome season in 2022 where he mashed 39 home runs with a .955 OPS between Double-A and Triple-A for the Cardinals, Gomez regressed quite a bit in 2023, posting a .750 OPS but still mashing 30 home runs along the way.
Gomez has a ton of power, but he just does not have the bat-to-ball skills or plate discipline that teams want to see when they project his game to the Major League level. Honestly, it's not just the Cardinals who haven't believed in Gomez yet, because if another club did, I'm guessing a trade would have already happened.
Gomez is on the Cardinals 40-man roster but still has not seen a call-up to St. Louis, leading me to believe he'll be part of a trade package or potentially designated for an assignment this offseason. Maybe he'd finally get a shot in 2024 if St. Louis trades some of their outfield depth, but I kind of doubt we see that happen for Gomez.
Adam Wainwright
Adam Wainwright is riding off into the sunset after his legendary career with the St. Louis Cardinals, getting career win number 200 in his final start and even collecting a few plate appearances in the final homestand.
Wainwright just revealed that he had been pitching through a partially torn labrum this year, and fully tore it during his start against the Orioles. He gave everything he had in his vintage performance against the Brewers, and it resulted in that historic win.
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Wainwright's body is done, and frankly, he's ready to turn the page on his big league career and enter a new season of life. It'll be odd not having Wainwright in the Cardinals' dugout in 2024, but he's been very open about his desire to be around the organization often as he enters retirement.