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

Turner Ward needs to be fired this offseason.

It doesn't matter if Turner Ward is actually the source of the team's offensive woes or not, he needs to be fired if not just to placate a rabid fanbase. For the last two seasons under Ward's leadership, the Cardinals have had one of the worst offenses in the league according to most metrics.

Since the start of the 2023 season, the Cardinals rank 16th according to wRC+ in the league, 17th in slugging percentage, 21st in ISO, 15th in on-base percentage, and 14th in batting average. Where they've particularly struggled has been with runners in scoring position. Since 2023, the Cardinals rank 25th in team wRC+, 26th in wOBA, 26th in slugging percentage, and 26th in batting average in such situations.

Suffice it to say, the Cardinals have been abysmal with runners in scoring position since the start of 2023. Whether this is directly a result of Turner Ward's leadership and coaching can't fully be understood or quantified, but someone has to be the scapegoat for this lackluster offense. Turner Ward is likely that person.

His experiences prior to becoming the team's hitting coach were vast; he was an assistant hitting coach for the Cardinals in 2022 along with being Paul Goldschmidt's preferred instructor. Aside from that, Ward was also a hitting coach for the Reds, Dodgers, and Diamondbacks along with a splattering of coaching appearances in Arizona's minor league system throughout the 2010's.

It's almost inevitable that Turner Ward will be fired after the season. There will be plenty viable replacements for him.