7 players who should be entering their final days on the Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals, while not as bad record-wise as last year, have been just as disappointing as their 2023 counterpart and look like a team on the brink of major changes.

While the most significant of those changes should be coming to their front office, I also believe we should see turnover on the Major League roster. As the Cardinals look ahead to how they need to operate differently moving forward, it would help to begin to clear out some of their clutter and specific players that are not helping them turn the page as an organization.

In the case of some players, it boils down to poor performance and/or a lack of availability. For others, it's simply a matter of redundancy. If the club can rid themselves of players like this, I will feel better about their chance of turning things around.

I wrote the other day about some players who need bigger roles in 2025 and some who do not, and while there will be some overlap with this list, I am specifically going to make arguments for why I believe the Cardinals are better off without each of these players next season.

Here are 7 Cardinals who need to be playing their final games with the Cardinals down the stretch

Lance Lynn

Lance Lynn has been about what you would have expected this year from him. Better health and more innings would have been ideal, but overall, the expectation would be that he would be a back-of-the-rotation starter.

If the Cardinals did not have options to turn to for their rotation next year, bringing back Lynn would be an okay option, but even then, I think most of us would agree that their sights should be set higher with rotation upgrades.

I also have my doubts that Lynn is going to equal or better this year's performance in 2025. Trusting him as one of your five best options feels like playing with fire to me.

Miles Mikolas

Getting rid of Miles Mikolas will not be an easy task (well, at least in terms of getting financial relief), but even if the Cardinals have to eat the whole contract, that is better than keeping him around, right?

After another awful start this weekend, Miles Mikolas is now 8-11 with a 5.55 ERA in 155.2 innings of work for the Cardinals this season. Those numbers have only gotten worse as the season has gone on. Over his last 15 starts, that ERA is up to 6.26 with a 1.43 WHIP, and over his last seven starts, Mikolas has a 7.76 ERA and 1.63 WHIP.

Sure, his FIP (4.21) and xFIP (4.10) are over a full run better, but come on, all you have to do is watch Mikolas pitch to know that he's well past the days of being a productive big leaguer for the Cardinals.

Last year, Mikolas was able to eclipse the 200-inning mark for the Cardinals, but he did so while sporting a 4.78 ERA. This year, the run prevention has gotten even worse, and now Mikolas can't even be trusted to give them bulk innings either.

The Cardinals are on the hook for $17.6 million for Mikolas next year, yet another awful (and unnecessary) extension from the front office that is aging poorly. Sure, paying a guy $17.6 million to not throw a pitch for you hurts, but doesn't it hurt more to have Mikolas actually pitching for them next year? I say yes.

The Cardinals have offloaded bad deals before and eaten money in the process (see Dexter Fowler) and I think that would make a ton of sense in the case of Mikolas. Even if no one wants him and they just have to release him, I don't see a reason not to with how bad things have gone to this point.

Frankly, do we really think the young Cardinals arms who are hoping to start games next year would be any worse than Mikolas? I can't imagine so.

Steven Matz

Speaking of another arm that I don't really understand prioritizing over their younger options, all three of Steven Matz's seasons with the Cardinals have been riddled with injuries and bad performances.

I think Matz is a better pitcher than what we've seen from him overall, and if he could remain on the mound for a prolonged stretch, I do think you'd see more production. But honestly, they cannot cross their fingers with him anymore and should be looking to see if they could possibly offload him to another club, even if it requires eating a bit of the contract.

Steven Matz is set to make $12.5 million for the Cardinals in the final year of his contract in 2025, which is not nearly as bad as the $17.6 million due to Mikolas. Matz also has bullpen versatility if he does not make the rotation, something that I do not think you can really say about Mikolas at this point.

I could see another club taking on some of Matz's contract in hopes that he bounces back for them, knowing that they can slot him in the bullpen if needed. For a Cardinals organization that will likely cut costs this offseason, saving even just a portion of his money could be worthwhile.

I'll address all of the starting options in a moment, but I don't think the Cardinals would miss a beat depth-wise not having Matz in the mix. From a bullpen perspective, you can never have enough arms, but paying Matz $12.5 million when JoJo Romero, Matthew Liberatore, and John King are all cheaper and better options from the left side would certainly be a choice.

If the Cardinals don't find a suitor for Matz this offseason, I think it would be perfectly fine to allow him to earn a role during Spring Training, and if he can't then release him and hope another club picks him up.

Turner Ward

Okay, I cheated. Turner Ward is not a player, but he's the most glaring change I see to the coaching staff that needs to be made this offseason, although other changes could be made as well.

The Cardinals are going to finish the season about where most fans expected them to, slightly above .500, and they are going to do so while having their offense underperform to an alarming degree. If the offense played anywhere near expectations, let alone its ceiling this year, the Cardinals would be a playoff team right now.

While I'm not sure it's fair to say that all of the blame falls on Ward, it is hard to explain how he keeps his job and how poorly things have gone. The Cardinals are among the most disappointing offenses in all of baseball and have been historically bad with runners in scoring position. Any time a team has the talent on offense that the Cardinals have and you can say they were historically bad at something, I think it is fair to wonder what went wrong from a coaching perspective.

If fans want to see a change with pitching coach Dusty Blake or other coaches on the staff, I would understand that and I could see that happening. Personally, I think the pitching staff has mostly played to expectations this year, but I'm also not sure Blake has done enough in his two years to wow anyone either.

As for manager Oliver Marmol, I personally think he has shown a lot of good things as the club's manager this year, but two straight losing seasons is a tough look for the skipper. I think those issues go well beyond Mamrol though and are above his paygrade, which is why I would like to see him back next year. But if real change is coming in St. Louis, well, it may make sense to clean house there as well.

At the very least, I do expect Ward to be let go following the season and for the Cardinals to pursue a new voice in that role for 2025.

Kyle Gibson

The Cardinals should already have Sonny Gray, Erick Fedde, and Andre Pallante penciled into their 2025 rotation at this point. After those names, any of Quinn Mathews, Michael McGreevy, Adam Kloffenstein, Sem Robberse, Matthew Liberatore, and Gordon Graceffo should have the opportunity to earn a spot in the rotation.

Looking down even further, could any of Tink Hence, Ian Bedell, or Cooper Hjerpe end up being options at some point during the 2025 season? I certainly would not rule that out. In all, that makes three locked in starters, six names who could fight for rotation spots, and three more names who could join the mix later on in the year.

There is a lot of variance and risk with this group, which is why the Cardinals may feel inclined to bring back Kyle Gibson. But in my opinion, no matter which direction the Cardinals go as an organization next year, Gibson is not needed in this rotation anymore. Let me explain.

If the Cardinals are trying to win next year, why would Gibson be the guy they use to fix out one of those two rotation spots? The Cardinals have to add a second front-line starter to pair with Sonny Gray if they want to do damage next season, and freeing up that money they'd be paying Gibson could help with that, even as they likely shrink payroll, actually, especially because of the fact they want to shrink payroll.

If the Cardinals want to have a retool year, why have Gibson in the rotation over young arms that they need to give exposure to? In the best-case scenario, Gibson helps them scrap for a Wild Card spot or is a trade piece at the deadline, but his presence would block at least one young arm from an opportunity. The value that St. Louis could get from letting those young arms throw next year could be invaluable for their roster building in 2026 and beyond.

Gibson is the pitcher I feel most comfortable with out of the ones I've listed today who need to go, but don't the Cardinals already have his profile in Fedde and Pallante? And wouldn't they kind of be hoping that the young arms do what Gibson can do? Sure, Mathews has a higher ceiling, but they can't expect big-time production from him already.

Let Gibson walk and be a contributor for a rotation next year that needs back-end stability. The Cardinals, if they are going to put resources toward their starting pitching, need to target front-end starters, and allow their young arms to backfill the rotation.

Paul Goldschmidt (maybe)

I know I just wrote about why the Cardinals should at least consider bringing back Paul Goldschmidt, but that is why I said they should consider it because as of right now, I am split on if that is the right move to make.

On the one hand, Goldschmidt has been a lot better as of late and fills a real need for this lineup as a productive right-handed bat. But on the other hand, there have been long stretches this year where Goldschmidt was just awful, so does running it back really make a ton of sense?

I really need to see how the rest of September unfolds before making my final take on this. If Goldschmidt finishes the year strong, then I have multiple reasons why I think him coming back on a reasonable deal makes sense. But if he struggles again, then I just don't see why it makes sense for either side.

The Cardinals do have other options in Burleson and Baker, and someone like Brendan Donovan can even fill in time at first base as well. Also, nothing would be stopping the Cardinals from going out and acquiring a different first baseman. It's not Goldschmidt or bust for them.

I understand why many fans have already made up their mind on Goldschmidt, and if the season ended today, I think I'd lean toward cutting ties as well. But there is still season left to play, and I do think Goldschmidt's finish (paired with what we've already seen over the last few months) makes this conversation more interesting than the other names I listed above.