Predicting the fates of 7 Cardinals players, 2 coaches, and 1 executive after 2024

Miles Mikolas needs to be traded this offseason.

I've held this position for months now, and Mikolas's recent outing doesn't change anything for me. Miles Mikolas being traded this offseason, regardless of the cost, is more beneficial for the team than him staying on the roster. He's expensive next year, he's been abysmal these past two seasons, and he's blocking young pitchers like Michael McGreevy and Gordon Graceffo from getting fair shots at the major league level.

Since the start of the 2023 season, Mikolas has thrown 362 innings. That's a crazy amount of reliability from a starting pitcher, and it shouldn't go unnoticed that he's made every start since then. However, those starts haven't been good. Across the last two seasons, Mikolas has a 5.10 ERA, 4.25 FIP, 1.304 WHIP, and an 85 ERA+. He's been mentioned with pitchers like Patrick Corbin and Alek Manoah these past two years as the worst starters in baseball.

In 30 starts this year, Mikolas has a 5.49 ERA, 4.22 FIP, and a 1.288 WHIP. He's allowed 24 home runs, tied for 16th-most among pitchers. His 98 earned runs allowed is second to only Patrick Corbin of the Washington Nationals.

It's sad to see Mikolas stumble the way he has these past two years. He had extremely successful campaigns in 2018 and 2022 with the Cardinals, and the hope was that he would be a serviceable #4 starting pitcher for the team this year. He's accomplished the goal of being a bulk pitcher, but his production has hampered the Cardinals' ability to win games.

If John Mozeliak can find a willing suitor for Miles Mikolas, even if the Cardinals have to swallow money or send a prospect with him, he has to do so.