The St. Louis Cardinals are set to finish their 2023 season with a homestand against the Cincinnati Reds this weekend. While the Cardinals are eliminated from postseason contention already, the Reds are still fighting for a playoff spot,
For Cardinals fans, the major storyline this weekend is the final series of Adam Wainwright's career. While he won't be taking the mound during this series, there will be plenty of celebrations for the Cardinal legend, and hopes that he can get one more at-bat before retiring.
As far as the rest of the team's performance, so many of their key contributors will be inactive for the final homestand. Nolan Arenado, Willson Contreras, Brendan Donovan, Nolan Gorman, Alec Burleson, Tyler O'Neill, and Dylan Carlson have all played their final games of the 2023 season already, JoJo Romero, Giovanny Gallegos, and Steven Matz also won't throw a pitch this weekend. It's a really odd lineup that will be trouting out there each day.
When you look at the Cardinals roster this weekend, a ton of names will receive playing time that I am fairly confident will not be on the Cardinals' roster in 2024. There are a variety of names that may still be on the 40-man roster come Spring Training, but I've found at least 8 names that I would be shocked if they were back in St. Louis next year.
Most of these names are unlikely to be back due to performance, but there are a few other names that just do not fit into the Cardinals plans for one reason or another.