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

1. Paul Goldschmidt

I think it's safe to say that in all likelihood, Paul Goldschmidt will not be back in 2025. He's on an expiring contract and he has not had a good season. Heading into the Brewers series, he had an average of .230 and an OPS of .681.

Still, there could be a team out there that needs an extra offensive piece. This would allow the Cardinals to finally give Luken Baker a look as they try to assess what they have in place for the future.

At this point, Goldschmidt is deadweight on the roster and is blocking other players within the system. It's clear that the Cardinals aren't going anywhere this season, and it doesn't make sense to hold onto an aging star that isn't adding any value. It's time to cut bait with Goldschmidt and turn the focus to 2025.

Perhaps the Mariners, who are struggling a bit could use a bat. They released Ty France earlier this season, so Goldschmidt could take over first base there.

2. Kyle Gibson

Early on, I was impressed with Kyle Gibson and his ability to eat innings and keep the Cardinals in games. However, it hasn't lasted. His stats aren't horrible, but they're not what you need when the rotation is falling apart.

The 36-year-old right-hander is 7-5 with a 4.26 ERA. There could be teams in need of some back-end rotation help before the waiver period passes. But at this point, the Cardinals need to see what they have in the system.

Why not give Michael McGreevy and Gordon Graceffo a chance to get some starts down the stretch? They clearly are Major League ready and it would make sense to see what they can do as far as earning some looks in 2025.

Gibson likely won't be back in 2025 anyway, so it would make sense to put him on the wire and see if any teams might be interested in adding a starter. The Reds might be after Hunter Greene went on the injured list.