Three players who the Cardinals should not bring back after 2023

Since the 2023 season has been such a disaster for the Cardinals, we have seen a lot of new faces, many that more than likely would not be given much of a chance on a contending ballclub.

For context, the Cardinals have a tragic number of one in the NL Central and six in the Wild Card race, so it's only a matter of time before they're officially eliminated from postseason contention and take a seat on the couch for the first time since 2018.

The Cardinals have already ensured that they will not finish above .500 this season, and soon, they'll secure their first losing season since 2007. It's quite unfamiliar territory for a team that prides itself on winning and consistently reaching the postseason.

We can only hope that 2023 proves to be an outlier and the Cardinals return to playoff contention next year.

With that being said, there are certain players who were on this year's roster that may not have gotten any chances with teams in contention. And it's likely only because the Cardinals are so far out of contention that some of these players got opportunities on the big-league roster.

But that isn't to say that all the players who received such chances were necessarily deserving of them, and it would serve the Cardinals well to cut bait with some of these players in the offseason.

In this piece, we will discuss three players who the Cardinals should let go of after the season ends.

Taylor Motter

I don't want to use this piece to bash Motter, but I think it goes without saying that the Cardinals have given him way too much leeway. He is a career .188 hitter and has posted a WAR of -1.5 over his five seasons in the big leagues.

Twice, he's played for three different teams in the span of one season. Yet the Cardinals have given him plenty of starts despite his offensive struggles, which ties into an issue Oli Marmol has had all season long of giving his best players days off for the final games of the road series.

Back in August, Motter was at the plate with two out in the ninth inning and represented the tying run against the Twins. Nolan Arenado was available on the bench. So were Willson Contreras and Nolan Gorman. Motter struck out to end the game.

Back in April, the Cardinals loaded the bases with nobody out in a game against the Brewers. Brendan Donovan was set to hit next. But with a lefty on the mound, Marmol chose to go with a right-handed hitter to counter, despite Donovan's success against lefties.

Marmol went with Motter, who struck out.

He's been called up and sent back down multiple times, yet he has provided no value for the team and therefore should not be brought back after this season, let alone for the remainder of the schedule.

Casey Lawrence

In all honesty, Lawrence hasn't exactly been terrible and has cleaned up several messes that the Cardinals put themselves in. He can also be used as a long man.

However, the Cardinals bullpen is not good, and a good bullpen more often than not would not have somebody with a career 6.43 ERA. While he's shown moments of brilliance, the Cardinals can't afford to find themselves in the same situation they did last year with T.J. McFarland, who was picked up off the scrap heap in 2021 and did well but couldn't replicate that success in 2022.

St. Louis needs proven arms, and Lawrence just isn't that type of pitcher.