3 former Cardinals we'll miss this season and 2 we'll bid good riddance to

No big loss: Jack Flaherty

The Cardinals' No. 2 prospect in 2016 and 2018 according to MLB.com, Jack Flaherty put it together for one wonderful half season in 2019 after the All-Star break, going 10-5 with a 0.91 ERA in 99.1 innings. But injuries soon took their toll on the once-shining star, and after Flaherty not-so-subtly disparaged the pitch-calling of Willson Contreras in 2023, the Cardinals finally decided that it wasn't worth keeping Flaherty around any longer and dealt him to the Baltimore Orioles for prospects Cesar Prieto, Drew Rom and Zack Showalter.

Flaherty's frequent injuries led him to be a source of frustration for many Cardinals fans, as did his online political statements, and many fans were glad to see him gone. Their feelings were vindicated after Flaherty struggled mightily in Baltimore, pitching to an unsightly 6.75 ERA and allowing 11.9 hits per nine innings. He was eventually removed from the rotation as the Orioles battled for a postseason berth. In December, Flaherty signed with the Detroit Tigers for one year and $14 million.

With the Cardinals looking for durability and innings from their starters this season, Flaherty is far too brittle to fit into the team's plans, and the thought of him being able to reach his 2019 highs appears to be a pipe dream at this point.

It's been a quick and nasty fall from grace for the pitcher who once looked like a budding ace, and Flaherty might have been in more need of a change of scenery than anyone else on the team. If Detroit can find something extra within Flaherty's repertoire, that's great, but his time with the Cardinals was clearly up.