6 Cardinals players who made the Opening Day roster but won't finish on it

There's no beating around the bush when it comes to the start these St. Louis Cardinals are off to. It has not been pretty. From clubhouse drama to lackluster performances on the field, things have not gone well in the early goings of the 2023 season.

However, it's still extremely early, and the Cardinals should remain the favorites in the NL Central, despite a red-hot start by the division-rival Milwaukee Brewers.

When the Cards announced their Opening Day roster, there were a few players that could be considered surprises. Now that the season is underway, the future roster picture is both becoming clearer and muddied all at the same time.

Let's check out SIX Cardinals players that made the Opening Day roster but won't finish the year on it.

Utilityman Taylor Motter

Taylor Motter, 33, has bounced around all over the league in parts of six seasons. Tampa Bay, Seattle, Minnesota, Cincinnati, Colorado, Boston, St. Louis; you name it, he's probably been a part of their organization.

To start the year, the versatile journeyman was able to squeak onto the big league roster thanks to an injury to Paul DeJong. Don't expect him to stick around for long.

Through three games, Motter is two-for-seven (.286) with a double and 17 errorless innings at second base. He can play all over the diamond but is a top candidate to be DFA'd once DeJong (or even Lars Nootbaar) returns.

Left-handed pitcher Packy Naughton

Packy Naughton, 27, is currently on the injured list with a forearm strain, but he was not long for the big league roster before the injury came up.

The left-handed swingman came up with the Reds and Angels systems before debuting with the Halos in 2021, posting a 6.35 ERA across seven appearances and 22+ innings. He struggled mightily with control and walked (14) more batters than he struck out (12).

Prior to the beginning of last season, Naughton was claimed off of waivers by the Cardinals and was assigned to Triple-A Memphis. He was up in the big leagues by the end of April and performed better than he had the year prior, but still not very good. In 26 games, he had a 4.78 ERA and 82 ERA+ across 32 innings of work. The main positive that came from his brief cameo was his dramatically improved command; he struck out 31 batters while walking only seven.

With injuries around the pitching staff, Naughton made this year's Opening Day roster almost by default. He can either start or relieve (he is arguably not suited for a starter's role long-term, though) and provided the Cardinals with a second lefty in the 'pen before he went down. Prior to the injury, he had four scoreless outings under his belt, but he is a pitcher on the bottom of the organizational totem pole and will either finish the year in the minor leagues or on another team.

Right-handed pitcher Jake Woodford

Stop me if you've heard this one before, but Jake Woodford finally found a path to consistent starts once injuries to the pitchers around him began to creep up. With Adam Wainwright out of the picture, Woodford was able to slot into the rotation on a consistent basis for, really, the first time in his career.

Unfortunately, things have not gone the way anybody wanted them to for Woodford. The 26-year-old righty has allowed nine earned runs on 13 hits across two starts so far this year, good for a 9.00 ERA in nine innings. His stuff has looked way too hittable and the stats have backed that up. This is all without mentioning the fact that he has already surrendered four home runs, which is at or near the top of the league lead.

Last year was a sneak peek into what Woodford was capable of for Cardinals fans. He made 27 appearances (nearly all in relief) and had a 2.23 ERA, 3.13 FIP, and 174 ERA+. He never strikes out many batters, instead working groundballs out of them, but he did an exceptional job at limiting walks, limiting home runs, and just keeping the bases empty as often as possible during his outings.

Even in Spring Training, he looked like a man on a mission. In five outings during spring, he allowed just four earned runs in 17.2 innings (2.04 ERA) and had an impressive (for him) 9.2 SO/9 rate.

With one minor league option year tied to his name, Woodford is likely going to finish the 2023 season in Triple-A. There just isn't room for someone struggling the way he has early on if the Cardinals are serious about their playoff aspirations.

Right-handed pitcher Chris Stratton

To Chris Stratton's credit, he has actually looked decent so far this year. In three appearances and four innings of work, the 32-year-old has a 2.25 ERA with only three hits allowed.

However, past numbers have shown enough to suggest that a significant regression is in his future. His Cardinals career has gone well so far (150 ERA+ in 23 games), but he is not far removed from a 5.09 ERA in 40 appearances for the Pirates in the first half of last year.

Stratton has long been a mediocre pitcher in the big leagues, spending the majority of his time on uninspiring Giants, Angels, and Pirates teams. He is best suited for clubs of that stature, rather than a Cardinals team who is legitimately in the middle of their respective contention window.

With the presence of younger and, frankly - better - arms in the minor leagues for the Cardinals, Stratton feels like a DFA candidate before a month or two go by in the regular season. Matthew Liberatore is ready for consistent playing time in the big leagues while other 40-man roster options for this long relief/mop-up role include JoJo Romero, Jake Walsh, and Guillermo Zuniga.

Outfielder Tyler O'Neill

Oh boy, this is a spicy one. Tyler O'Neill is one of the better performers in this Cardinals lineup and has become a beloved figure amongst the fans of the team.

However, with all of the recent drama surrounding O'Neill and Cardinals manager Oli Marmol, it's worth wondering if the team may be best off trading the slugging outfielder with other options on the roster. Everyone has their own opinions about who is wrong and who is right in this whole incident, but the fact of the matter is, the damage may already be done.

Should the Cardinals elect to move on, the player they're losing is a legitimate star-caliber talent. While durability has been questionable for O'Neill over the years (he has played over 100 games exactly one time in six years), he capitalizes on his playing time in a big way. In 2021, his only full season, he hit 34 home runs with 80 RBI and a 148 OPS+, good enough to finish eighth in the NL MVP race.

Putting the butting of heads that are currently happening aside, O'Neill could've already been the Cardinals' top trade candidate amongst their outfielders. Jordan Walker is certainly going to be locked into right field for the foreseeable future, Lars Nootbaar is well on his way to an everyday starting role in either center or left, and the team still has hope that Dylan Carlson starts to produce. If nothing else, Alec Burleson (who is off to a hot start with the bat), can play left field moving forward as well.

The point is, there are a ton of outfield-capable players on this roster. If O'Neill and his injury proneness continue to be an issue in the clubhouse, the Cardinals may have to make a difficult move to maximize his value while it's high.