The St. Louis Cardinals 2023 season did not go according to plan, and for good reason. The pitching staff faltered, while the managerial skillset of Oli Marmol were exposed. St. Louis is expected to make some major changes in the offseason, with John Mozeliak targeting frontline starting pitching early and often.
"Realistically we know we have to add 3 starters this offseason. We know we have to add depth. We went into this season thinking we had that covered and it didn't work out that way. A repeat of that would not be in the best interest of the franchise," Mozeliak said back in August.
With plenty of new talent likely being brought in, some players will not earn their spots back. St. Louis has plenty of free agents and potential trade targets on the outs.
Now, if you'll remember, the initial version of this story declared that five specific Cardinals may not be back -- Mike Girsch, Jak Woodford, Dylan Carlson, Tyler O'Neill, and Dusty Blake. For this next segment, we will instead be naming different players, coaches or executives who are on the outs with the organization.
St. Louis Cardinals are unlikely to re-sign Drew VerHagen
Drew VerHagen didn't have a bad year by any means. Spending the majority of the season in the St. Louis bullpen, VerHagen had an ERA under four, and was serviceable for manager Oli Marmol. Yet, St. Louis is likely to be too distracted fishing for big-name pitchers this offseason to prioritize a player like VerHagen, who could fly under the radar as an acceptable bullpen addition for a contender.
Look for analytically-driven teams to target VerHagen, hoping to unlock some of the potential St. Louis saw in him to begin with. Relievers do tend to move around a lot, especially those of VerHagen's variety. VerHagen is a free agent this winter, and spotrac lists his estimated market value above $2 million.
The Cardinals can surely afford to keep him around if that's where his true interests lie. Don't be surprised to see him sign with a proven contender, though.
St. Louis Cardinals have no reason to bring back Taylor Motter
This isn't a shot at Taylor Motter by any means, I'm sure he's a fine person, but the St. Louis Cardinals don't have much use for him at this juncture. Motter was a sub-.200 hitter this season and failed to provide much besides infield depth. At 34 years old, Motter will be cheap this offseason as he's a free agent. If St. Louis wants more depth in its minor-league system, then perhaps they can offer that option to Motter plus a spring-training invite. Anything more is unlikely.
A fresh start could do Motter some good, as he has yet to really catch on with any MLB team beyond a platoon role. In six big-league seasons Motter has hit just .171, and he's never hit more than 10 home runs. Motter has never posted above a .590 OPS, which came in his rookie season.
St. Louis doesn't lack middle infield depth, so there certainly isn't a spot in the majors for him, especially with the emergence of Masyn Winn.
St. Louis Cardinals could float Juan Yepez as a trade option
Juan Yepez is still pre-arbitration, so if the Cardinals view him as part of their big-league future, even as a depth player, they should not trade him. However, Yepez was used primarily as an outfielder this past season. He has experience playing first base as well. His bat doesn't warrant time as a DH considering he hit just .183 this past season.
Yet, Yepez has shown flashes from time to time. That could make him a valuable throw-in in a trade for a starting pitcher. Joshua Jacobs of Redbird Rants is curious as to where Yepez would fit on the 2024 roster, thus making him expendable:
"For the Cardinals, there's not really a clear spot for Yepez to play with the mix of veteran and young talent they are prioritizing. While I don't fault them for that, what I do not understand is how they did not foresee that in the 2022 offseason, and traded Yepez then to maximize his value. Instead, they wasted an opportunity to improve as a club and wasted a year of Yepez's development," Jacobs wrote.
Yepez could be a decent player one day. It probably will not be in St. Louis.
