3 players that could be waived if the Cardinals fall out of contention

The Cardinals had made a ton of progress after their win on Mother's Day, only to watch it get flushed down the toilet in August. They've fallen back below .500 and may soon be out of contention. Entering the Brewers series, St. Louis had a record of 61-63 after being swept by the Reds and losing two out of three to the Dodgers. They also were five games back in the Wild Card race.

However, that deficit may grow in the next few days as the Cardinals play the Twins, Padres, and Yankees next before another series with Milwaukee. By then, it may be time to pack it in for 2024 and shift the focus to 2025.

But if that happens, we could see the Cardinals use the waiver wire to dump some players on expiring contracts. At that point, there will be nothing left to salvage from 2024. The season already appears lost, and the next few series will certainly determine the Cardinals' fate for this year.

The waiver period is similar to the trade deadline in that players have to be claimed by teams before a certain date and time, but the lowest bidder wins these sweepstakes, as players go to the team with the worst record of those who placed claims. This is a very realistic possibility for the Cardinals, who have continued to tumble out of the race with very little time left

Here are three players St. Louis could put on waivers