5 bold moves the Cardinals need to make to overhaul their organization this offseason

#4 - Part ways with declining veterans like Miles Mikolas, Steven Matz, and Paul Goldschmidt

I think we can all get behind these - let's cut some of the deadweight off the roster already.

Paul Goldschmidt has been better in the second half, but it's probably best for both sides that he finds a new home this offseason and the Cardinals save a pretty penny on his deal. Goldschmidt would be great in a platoon role against LHP for a cheap deal, but I bet he can find better offers than that from other clubs. And frankly, it may just be best for the Cardinals to move on, even if there's theoretically a spot for him.

Steven Matz isn't someone they have to trade either, but they do need to explore it and see what kinds of options are out there. They cannot trust Matz for the rotation anymore outside of being a depth option, but they could still extract some value from him in the bullpen if needed. Cutting him makes very little sense to me, but if they can move a chunk of his contract in a trade, go for it.

The one they just have to rip the band-aid on, no matter the cost, is Miles Mikolas. The Cardinals are a better team just by taking him off the roster at this point. There are zero reasons to bring back a guy who just cannot make competitive starts consistently at this point and is blocking young arms who would probably outperform him.

We've seen them offload bad deals before like Mike Leake or Dexter Fowler, so that would be ideal here with Mikolas. But even if a team doesn't want to take a cheap flyer on him to eat innings, I do think cutting him is much better than allowing him to throw the ball again for St. Louis next year.

The Cardinals 2025 rotation already features Sonny Gray, Erick Fedde, and Andre Pallante. Mikolas does not need to be a part of that rotation mix, and he will not provide value out of the bullpen either.

Now that the Cardinals have some young arms who could backfill innings next year, it is time the club aims their sights higher on starting pitching, which will be the last "bold" move I get into for them.