4 Cardinals who should have a larger role in 2025, 3 who should not

The St. Louis Cardinals will be in a peculiar spot this offseason when it comes to the direction of their roster.

The club has multiple veterans with one year of control remaining, a club option for 2025, or whose contracts are expiring and are open to a return to St. Louis. The more players the Cardinals say "yes" to out of this group, the fewer opportunities they have for others on their roster.

There are multiple players who joined their MLB roster this year and some in Triple-A who need to get opportunities, but that means the Cardinals need to let go of or take away playing time from veterans on their roster.

Luken Baker should be at least a right-handed bat off the bench in 2025

If you've listened to me on podcasts this past week or read my piece on Paul Goldschmidt, you may think I'm flip-flopping here. I promise that I'm not! While I'm not ready to buy into the idea that Luken Baker should be the Cardinals starting first baseman next year or penciled in as their platoon option against left-handed pitching, I do believe he's earned the right to be on the roster, rather than limbo between Memphis and St. Louis.

Baker has proven everything he can in Memphis at this point, and while I have my doubts about him as a full-time player at the big league level, I do think he provides value off the bench against left-handed pitching, and that is something the Cardinals have needed badly this season.

Even if the Cardinals retain Paul Goldschmidt this offseason, Luken Baker could easily take Matt Carpenter's roster spot and be utilized very similarly - mostly as a DH or bat off the bench - but coming from the right side of the plate instead. If the Cardinals do let Goldschmidt walk, then they could give Baker the opportunity to earn a role in the starting lineup against left-handed pitching, but I would hesitate to "bank" on him doing that.

At the very least, Baker is someone the Cardinals can turn to when their heavily left-handed lineup needs a pinch hitter in a big spot. Had Baker been on the roster instead of Carpenter this year, I think we would have seen way more pinch-hit opportunities from manager Oliver Marmol than we did. The way the Cardinals' bench was structured this year really limited Marmol's options late in games, but having Baker around can change that.

The Cardinals need to let Lance Lynn walk this offseason

Lance Lynn has mostly done his job for the Cardinals this season, going 6-4 with a 4.06 ERA in 21 starts. Lynn has really struggled to give the Cardinals length in games and has had a few blow-up starts on his resume, but overall, he's been fine.

Here's the rub - the Cardinals don't need any more "just fine" arms for their rotation, that's what they have Miles Mikolas and Steven Matz for. They acquired Erick Fedde to be a better (and cheaper) version of that as well. Frankly, they have multiple young arms who need a chance to fill that role, and they may end up being even better than Lynn has been.

Andre Pallante has already stepped into the Cardinals' rotation and shown that he can be a better option than Lynn on a much smaller salary. With Gray, Fedde, Pallante, Mikolas, and Matz under contract for next season, there is very little reason to muddy the waters for $12 million with Lynn again, especially when there is more depth behind those names I just listed.

Quinn Mathews has been a stud this year and is now making starts for the Memphis Redbirds. He figured to be ready for his MLB debut sometime in 2025, and they'll want to have room for him when they believe he is ready. Michael McGreevy was excellent in his MLB debut last month and his improved play in Triple-A shows he is ready for a legitimate run in St. Louis. Guys like Sem Robberse, Adam Kloffenstein, and Gordon Graceffo will deserve some looks as well.

Over the last few years, the Cardinals' have lacked the depth needed among their young arms to feel like they can turn to them when needed. Fortunately, things are different now, and the Cardinals need to let those young arms contribute and invest their resources into the top of the rotation or other areas of the team.

Lynn could be worth the $12 million in theory, but not for this team. They do not need another arm like Lynn, especially when they are already paying multiple players big money to provide depth for them (Matz and Mikolas). Let Lynn walk, and allow the young arms to sink or swim.

Thomas Saggese should take on a utility role for St. Louis

Like Baker earlier, the Cardinals could have really benefited from a guy like Saggese being on their bench this season, rather than Brandon Crawford. 2025 should be the year they let Saggese carve out a role in St. Louis.

For a club that started lefties Brendan Donovan, Lars Nootbaar, Alec Burleson, Nolan Gorman, and one of Victor Scott II or Michael Siani most of the year, having both Carpenter and Crawford off the bench made very little sense. Assuming most or all of those guys are major parts of the roster in 2025, the Cardinals need right-handed utility off of their bench, something that Saggese could do for them in a meaningful way.

I could easily see Saggese starting at second base against left-handed pitching while the Cardinals sit one of Nolan Gorman, Brendan Donovan, or Lars Nootbaar that day, which that alone would already benefit the club in a way that Crawford could not. But beyond that, Saggese would provide versatility for St. Louis in a number of ways.

Saggese can be the primary backup for Masyn Winn, and although his shortstop defense is not anything to write home about, Winn should play most days so having Saggese start there once a week or once every two weeks is very doable. Saggese can also find spot starts at third base and second base as well and could sub into games late as a right-handed bat or defensive substitute.

Saggese struggled offensively to begin 2024 but has been really good at the plate ever since July started. His power stroke has really shined as of late and he's already been a guy who hits the baseball a lot and with authority. If Saggese wants to be a part of this MLB roster in the near future, he'll need to be able to impact the game without an everyday role to start, and I think his versatility mixed with the damage he can do at the plate will earn him more and more opportunites as the season goes on.

No need to role with Jose Fermin in 2025 or bring in more "veteran leadership" behind Winn. Maximize this bench with Saggese and that will go a long way for this club.

Steven Matz should be relegated to the bullpen

I think we are already seeing the Cardinals do this, but unless they are able to move Matz in a deal this offseason, his final year with the club needs to be out of the bullpen.

I'm not opposed to Matz being a depth starting option for the Cardinals as well, but his role with the club needs to be primarily out of the bullpen unless multiple injuries happen or they need a random spot starter. Matz just has not done enough in his first three seasons with the club to warrant a spot in their rotation again, and with all the other options they have, I don't really even see him earning a spot if he was given the opportunity in Spring Training.

Instead, they can make the most of a bad situation and know that he is one of their left-handed options for 2025. With JoJo Romero regressing in the second half, the Cardinals could really use more left-handed options to pair with John King and Matthew Liberatore behind him. While I see Liberatore being a great reliever for the Cardinals next year, I understand why they may want to stretch him out one more time and see what he can do as a starter, so having Matz as a bullpen piece already would help with that.

The Cardinals have options on King and Liberatore, so either could be sent to Memphis if needed to begin the year to give Matz a chance out of the bullpen. And honestly, we kind of have to expect an injury to Matz based on how the last few years have gone, so it is important to have options behind him. The Cardinals could even carry four lefties in the bullpen next year if they trust one or two of them to face right-handers often.

The Cardinals should not be afraid to bite the bullet on Matz in a trade this offseason or by cutting him in 2025 if there are better options than him at their disposal. I understand bringing him into camp and seeing what happens if they are unable to trade him, but they do not need to be married to him on their roster. The Cardinals always seem to get into trouble when they let the "contract' play over the youngsters, so don't make that mistake again with Matz.

Even if the Cardinals can't trade Miles Mikolas, he should not get starts over their young arms

I'll start with this - assuming the Cardinals' are unable to move Miles Mikolas in a trade this offseason, I know that it is likely he will be in their rotation to begin the year, even though I think that would be a poor choice.

If I were deciding who was in the Cardinals' rotation next year, I'd choose Gray, Fedde, Pallante, McGreevy, and Mathews over Mikolas in a heartbeat. If the Cardinals allow some of their contracts like Gibson and Lynn to walk this offseason, they could easily bring in a second starter of the quality of Sonny Gray to slot in there as well. And honestly, I'd be fine seeing what Robberse, Kloffenstein, and Graceffo have over him as well.

Those are eight internal options I think should slot in over Mikolas, and that's not including someone they could sign or trade for this offseason. Mikolas just does not need to be on this Cardinal team anymore, and it is frustrating to see that this two-year extension he received last offseason has been a huge waste to this point.

If the Cardinals want to become a stronger team moving forward, they have to get out of this cycle of overpaying for back-of-the-rotation production time and time again. The only way they are going to be able to do that is by giving their young arms the chance to prove themselves at the big league level, and considering how bad Mikolas has been the last two years, having him step aside to give them opportunites could not go very poorly.

If the Cardinals had young arms that were not MLB-ready, then yes, Mikolas could be the fifth starter and we can just grimace through it. There is no point in throwing arms out there who are not ready and hurting their development. But the Cardinals' now have arms that need big league innings that are being blocked by someone like Mikolas, and so it is time to cut bait, even if it's painful financially. You have to pay him the money anyway, so might as well cut him if there are no takers.

Michael McGreevy deserves a chance to make the Cardinals' rotation

Speaking of young arms who need a chance in St. Louis, Michael McGreevy did everything he could possibly do in his MLB debut to earn another opportunity, but the Cardinals have too many veteran arms at this moment.

Even if the Cardinals let go of Lynn and Gibson this offseason, they'll still have a crowded rotation with Gray, Fedde, Pallante, and probably Mikolas in there. McGreevy has spent two years in Triple-A now and seems to have mastered the level, so it's really time for him to get his run in St. Louis at this point.

The former first-round pick looked like a bust for a while but has found a new gear that has allowed him to compete at a high level. While McGreevy may not have front-of-the-rotation upside like Mathews and Tink Hence, McGreevy could become a quality back-of-the-rotation starter, which is extremely valuable in this league.

Imagine if in 2025 the Cardinals are spending less than $1 million on each of McGreevy and Mathews in their rotation and have Pallante in the mix as a first-year arbitration guy. That gives them so much flexibility to add a bigger arm to their mix at a higher salary, which would really raise their ceiling as a team.

Even if McGreevy is not in their Opening Day rotation, he has shown enough at this point to be someone they should feel good about as their "next man up". No rotation goes without its share of injuries, so having someone like McGreevy available to slot in is a huge blessing for the club.

But they cannot have McGreevy so far down on the pecking order that he has only received one or two MLB starts by this time next year. It is time that the Cardinals give young arms the chance to thrive in St. Louis. We saw how beneficial it was for them when they gave Pallante a runway, and the same could happen with someone like McGreevy.