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

St. Louis Cardinals fans tend to put former Redbirds under a microscope after the recent history of moves gone awry. You know who they are: Sandy Alcantara, Zac Gallen, Randy Arozarena, etc. The Cardinals had to leave their comfort zone amid a disastrous season in 2023, where the team sold off pieces at the trade deadline for the first time in seemingly eons. While most fans understood that selling was necessary, people were worried about how the players the Cardinals gave up would fare and whether they would find more success with their new teams.

The results were generally reassuring for Cardinals fans. While a few players improved in the second half after the Cardinals let go of them, there were no significant breakouts, and other players backslid, some significantly.

After the season wrapped up, the Cardinals spent the winter getting busy in the free agent market to improve their pitching, but they delved into other teams' rosters as well, making a few trades to further bolster their bullpen corps and their farm system. The team decided against re-signing some impending free agents, and most of them have since found a place with other squads.

These players will be spending their first full season with their new teams after relinquishing the birds on the bat, all determined to show that the Cardinals made the wrong decision by jettisoning them or not re-signing them. These are three Cardinals whom I think fans will miss and two whom fans won't be too disappointed to no longer see on the team.

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We'll miss you!: Jordan Hicks

The owner of the most fiery fastball ever to torch a catcher's mitt, Jordan Hicks nevertheless had puzzlingly pedestrian strikeout rates throughout most of his tenure in St. Louis at 9.6 strikeouts per nine innings. He hit a career high in that mark with the Cardinals in 2023 at 12.7 per nine innings before being dealt to the Toronto Blue Jays for minor league pitchers Adam Kloffenstein and Sem Robberse.

Hicks' strikeout numbers ticked down with Toronto, but so did his ERA, dipping over a full run from 3.67 to 2.63 after the trade. A free agent after 2023, Hicks was picked up by the San Francisco Giants, who plan to let him do what he's always wanted to do: pitch in the rotation.

The Cardinals' rotation, while improved from last season, still fails to strike fear into the hearts of opponents, but with the Cardinals' focus on receiving innings from their starters, Hicks wouldn't have been a likely candidate to start. But the Cardinals will miss his production out of the bullpen. Hicks started 2023 horribly, with a 7.62 ERA in his first 13 innings and an opposing batting average of .309, but he soon turned it around, achieving a 1.88 ERA in his remaining 28.2 innings with St. Louis before the trade.

The Cardinals appear to have done well in replacing Hicks with Keynan Middleton and Andrew Kittredge, but the 27-year-old Hicks would have likely had more upside than those two. His professed desire to start might have hastened his exit from St. Louis, but if Hicks were amenable to a bullpen role with the Cardinals, he might have been able to build on his ultimately solid 2023.

We'll miss you!: Richie Palacios

Most fans' hopes of making the postseason had completely evaporated by June 16, when the Cardinals were 27-42. That day, the Cardinals made a seemingly unremarkable move, acquiring outfielder Richie Palacios from the Cleveland Guardians for cash considerations. The Cardinals promoted Palacios to the major leagues two months later, and he was immediately productive, wrestling his way into a starting outfield spot by the end of the season.

Palacios hit .258 with an .823 OPS in 2023, but the Cardinals have a glut of outfielders to begin 2024, so they deemed Palacios expendable and sent him to the Tampa Bay Rays for relief pitcher Andrew Kittredge in January. The move made sense, and Kittredge could be valuable to the Cardinals; nevertheless, Palacios has some exciting attributes that the Rays might be able to further hone.

Palacios pulled 45.2% of his batted balls last season, a high percentage of which were fly balls, making for a strong combination. He also showed excellent plate discipline and contact ability, achieving a 90.3% contact rate on pitches in the zone, which is about 7% above league average.

Where Palacios could still improve is in his exit velocity, and if the Rays can unlock that piece of his tool set, the 26-year-old Palacios could perform at a high level for several years. It's still a success for the Cardinals to have acquired Palacios for virtually nothing and later flipped him for a proven commodity, but if he takes another step forward, Cardinals fans will certainly bemoan his loss, especially since he'll likely be around longer than the 33-year-old Kittredge.

No big loss: Tyler O'Neill

Acquired by the Cardinals from the Seattle Mariners for pitcher Marco Gonzales in 2017, Tyler O'Neill had one brilliant season with St. Louis in 2021, where he hit .286 with 34 home runs and finished eighth in MVP voting. He appeared destined for greatness, but injuries, maddening inconsistency and a perceived lack of effort led O'Neill to be placed in the Cardinals' doghouse.

The Cardinals all but screamed at the baseball world that they were looking to deal O'Neill after the 2023 season, and they finally found a taker in the Boston Red Sox. who sent over pitchers Nick Robertson and Victor Santos.

O'Neill's litany of injuries, lack of hustle on a play at the plate early in 2023 and reluctance to play on turf because of concern over his knees was enough to exasperate fans and manager Oliver Marmol, who publicly criticized O'Neill for not giving it his all on his seemingly halfhearted scamper to the dish.

The Cardinals' massive overhaul of the clubhouse to rid it of negative energy and replace it with leaders was the final nail in the coffin for O'Neill. His five tools look to still be intact, and he has as much breakout potential as anyone in the game, so fans shouldn't be surprised if he he returns to his 2021 form with Boston. However, the Cardinals clearly ran out of goodwill for the outfielder.

If he rediscovers his old stroke with the Red Sox and stays healthy and committed, the credit would go to O'Neill for committing to the craft. The Cardinals did everything they could to try and get him right again, and no blame should fall on them if he blossoms in Boston.

We'll miss you!: Andrew Knizner

Andrew Knizner sharpened his tools at the feet of one of the greatest backstops ever to play the game. After backing up Yadier Molina for two full seasons and Willson Contreras for one, Knizner was not tendered a contract for 2024 as the Cardinals decided that Ivan Herrera was the future at the position. Knizner signed with Texas Rangers in November.

Knizner had the best season of his career in 2023, hitting .241 with 10 home runs, showing that he could be a serviceable backup catcher in the league. The Cardinals' decision not to offer him a contract was understandable given Herrera's youth and the emergence of catcher Pedro Pages in Double-A Springfield last season.

With Knizner out of the picture, Molina's main protege won't be around to instruct Herrera. Despite Molina's new role as a special assistant to John Mozeliak, the legendary former catcher himself is also not going to be present for most or all of Spring Training to impart his wisdom to Herrera or Contreras.

Herrera deserves to have a long look in the major leagues after only 66 career plate appearances. His performance in the Caribbean Series was highly encouraging, and his presence would leave Knizner with few opportunities. Nevertheless, losing Knizner might sting a bit given his whimsical personality and ability to handle a pitching staff.

Many times, a player isn't fully appreciated until he's gone. That looked to be the case with Molina after the front office became utterly lost during the first season after his retirement, and it can occur with fans too. Other times, players just don't live up the standards expected of them and fans lose patience. Whatever the situation, these Cardinals will look to reach new highs in their new (and apparently very uncomfortable) uniforms.