St. Louis Cardinals offseason preview: free agents, payroll, and targets this winter

The St. Louis Cardinals' season is officially over, and I think it's safe to say we've all been waiting for this day to come for a while now.

After a dreadful month of April, it seemed far-fetched that the Cardinals would be able to salvage the season at all. There were a few moments when the club started to turn things around, but those "runs" would quickly fade and turn back into losing baseball.

We saw the first true seller's deadline in the John Mozeliak era, and the team has been even more of a trainwreck since those moves were made. There are so many players on this current roster who will not be with the club in 2024 and beyond.

Nolan Arenado, Willson Contreras, Steven Matz, Nolan Gorman, Giovanny Gallegos, Alec Burleson, Tyler O'Neill, Brendan Donovan, Dylan Carlson, and JoJo Romero all ended the season on the Injured List, creating a bit of an "island of misfit toys" situation this last month. While it's been cool to send off Adam Wainwright the last few weeks, it's time to turn the page on 2023.

There is a lot of work to do this offseason. John Mozeliak and the Cardinals' front office have a tall task to rebuild this pitching staff and vault the Cardinals back into contention, but it's essential that they do so.

Here is a quick "offseason preview" for the St. Louis Cardinals, taking a look at their impending free agents, budget, team needs, and potential targets entering the offseason.