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4 Cardinals players who lost their roster spot this offseason
With offseason acquisitions and signings, several players who were on the St. Louis Cardinals' 2023 roster may have lost their spots this year.
The St. Louis Cardinals have had a very active offseason. They've added three starting pitchers via free agency, they've traded and/or signed for two relievers, and they traded away an outfielder. These additions have created a roster crunch at the major league level, and players who previously saw time in the majors may have been booted from the roster for 2024.
The lineup will remain largely the same except for the trade of Tyler O'Neill, but the starting rotation has three new faces. Dakota Hudson was not tendered a contract, Adam Wainwright retired, and Jordan Montgomery and Jack Flaherty were traded at the deadline. The bullpen also lost some players through trades at the Trade Deadline. The team's bench is also going to be vastly different, as Andrew Knizner and Juan Yepez were not tendered contracts at the deadline in November.
Fans have questioned these offseason moves, particularly signing BOTH Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson and the non-tender of Andrew Knizner, but John Mozeliak had a plan at the beginning of the offseason and it seems as though he's accomplished his goals.
While the offseason is still young, St. Louis appears to be pretty settled with their current roster. It is possible they sign or trade for one more reliever or a starting pitcher, but the roster is virtually set in stone at this point.
While it is plausible these four players make the MLB roster out of the gate, they'll have to have a strong showing in Spring Training.
Here are four Cardinals' players who lost a roster spot heading into the 2024 season.
Jose Fermin
It is surprising that Jose Fermin even saw time last year on the major league roster given his career. He was never a top prospect for any organization (#23 for the Cleveland Guardians in 2019), and his minor-league stats were less than stellar on the whole.
Fermin had a career .256/.347/.370 slash line in the minors. He is able to play most positions on the infield including second base, shortstop, and third base, but he is league average at each of these positions defensively. In just sixty-one plate appearances in St. Louis last year, Fermin hit .235/.339/.255, and he appeared over-matched most of the time at the plate.
The primary reason that Fermin will be cut out of the Opening Day roster would be the ascension of other young players such as Masyn Winn, Richie Palacios, and Thomas Saggesse. Also, the Cardinals held on to all three of Brendan Donovan, Tommy Edman, and Nolan Gorman this offseason, thus limiting the potential for him to see playing time in 2024.
Fermin still has plenty of options left (two), so it is likely that he will start the season in Memphis and is called up due to injuries or a need for players in the majors. He turns just twenty-five in March next year, so he is young enough to show improvement, but there are better players with a longer track record of success who will have a roster spot ahead of him.
James Naile
James Naile pitched only 15.1 innings last year. In that time, he struck out seven batters and gave up fifteen earned runs. He had a ridiculously high WHIP (2.348), and he walked more batters than he struck out. Naile was never a well-known pitcher, and the main reason he saw innings in the majors was due to injuries, mostly to Jake Woodford.
The Cape Girardeau native was called up one last time in June to fill in for Jake Woodford after his shoulder injury. Across eight seasons in the minors, Naile pitched to a 4.01 ERA, 1.344 WHIP, and struck out 6.8 batters per nine innings.
It is highly unlikely Naile is on the major league roster to start 2024, especially with the additions of Ryan Fernandez and Nick Robertson. Should St. Louis add another reliever through free agency or trade, Naile's chances of starting the season in St. Louis diminish even more.
The Cardinals need high-leverage, talented pitchers out of the bullpen for 2024. Naile doesn't fit either of those descriptions, so his spot on the roster next season is in jeopardy. He has just one option left, so he will more than likely start the season in AAA. He even runs the risk of being designated for assignment or being outright released from the team to clear a 40-man roster spot.
Matthew Liberatore
There was a time when Matthew Liberatore was a top 50 prospect in all of baseball. The left-handed pitcher had a devastating curveball, and he reminded some fans of Uncle Charlie, #50 Adam Wainwright. Libby has fallen from that pedestal these past few years. The lost minor league season in 2020 could have hurt his development, but he returned in 2021 at the AAA level in Memphis for St. Louis.
In 2021 and 2022 with Memphis, Liberatore had a 4.64 ERA in 239.2 innings. He struck out exactly nine batters per nine innings in those two seasons to go along with a mild walk rate. In Liberatore's limited time in the majors (96.1 innings), he has a 5.51 ERA, 4.54 FIP, and a 1.567 WHIP. Liberatore's low ERA and high FIP indicate that he has been bailed out by his defense on more than one occasion. His strikeout numbers are significantly lower (6.9 per nine innings) than they had been in the past for him.
Given Liberatore's struggles at the major league level and the Cardinals' signings of Lance Lynn, Kyle Gibson, and Sonny Gray, he runs the risk of not making the major league roster. The team needs relievers, particularly ones who can pitch multiple innings at a time. I would imagine Zack Thompson is above Matthew Liberatore in that pecking order.
St. Louis will need starting pitchers in 2025 if they don't bring on more starting pitchers next offseason. Liberatore will be stretched out, but I don't foresee him making the major league roster in 2024 right out of the gates, especially if John Mozeliak adds a reliever or another starting pitcher. He still has one more minor league option as well, opening the opportunity for him to start in Memphis.
Alec Burleson
Alec Burleson saw 315 at-bats last year for the St. Louis Cardinals. He finished with a .244/.300/.391 slash line and an OPS+ of just 87. Burleson is still young at twenty-five, so he has plenty of time to improve. Defensively, he has above-average arm strength, but he was a negative defender in right field (-2 Outs Above Average), left field (-5 Outs Above Average), and first base (-2 Outs Above Average).
John Mozeliak has recently stated that Dylan Carlson will be the team's fourth outfielder next year. He also mentioned Richie Palacios, Brendan Donovan, and even Victor Scott II as players who could see innings next year.
While Alec Burleson was mentioned with that collection of outfielders, it doesn't seem likely that he will see as many at-bats next year as he did this year. Burly would have to put on quite the show this Spring Training to move up the depth chart.
While I don't see Alec Burleson getting designated for assignment or rotting away in AAA, I could see him being a part of a trade package either this offseason or during next year's Trade Deadline. He showed decent power in the minors (twenty home runs in 470 plate appearances in 2022 for Memphis), but that hasn't translated to the majors yet.
Depth is always nice for a team, but Alec Burleson is likely the odd man out in a still-crowded St. Louis outfield. Injuries or trades, likely of Tommy Edman or Dylan Carlson, would carve the most direct route for Burleson to see a decent amount of innings next year.
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