Three key Padres pieces to watch as the Cardinals head to San Diego

After today's series finale with the Brewers, the Cardinals are headed out west to face the Padres.

Like the Cardinals, the Padres have had a difficult season and have performed well below expectations. They have plenty of talent on their roster just as the Cardinals do, but also may be sitting October out.

The Cardinals were eliminated on Tuesday with a 7-3 loss to the Brewers in Game 2 of the series, marking the first time since 2018 that they will not be playing in the postseason. As such, the focus is now on the 2024 season and beyond, as 2023 is officially a lost cause.

But while the Cardinals are in San Diego, there are going to be a few things to watch for, namely a few current Padres pieces that could impact the Cardinals in the near future, depending on what they do this offseason.

It's obvious that the Cardinals need pitching and could also stand to make a philosophical change. As things stand right now, there are only two starting pitchers under contract for 2024 and beyond for St. Louis.

Those pitchers are Miles Mikolas and Steven Matz. What the Cardinals are truly lacking is frontline starting pitching and strikeout stuff. These are things to keep an eye on as we move closer to the end of the 2023 season.

In this piece, we will take a look at three current members of the Padres to keep an eye on as the Cardinals get set to play the Friars this weekend.