What will the Cardinals’ roster look like in 2024? Here’s what we know and don’t know

The lack of official statements or guidance from the St. Louis Cardinals as the offseason gets underway leaves an information vacuum that’s not best served by guessing.

Despite myriad injury concerns and questions about the team’s plans for filling its vacancies, it’s unlikely that there will be significant updates on that front until the conclusion of the World Series.

What is largely able to be determined, though, is the central core of players who should be expected to return and play a large role in 2024. At last check, the Cardinals have remained committed to immediately fielding a contender next season. That makes it somewhat easier to determine which players are being counted on in support of that goal.

Catchers: To Be Determined

Willson Contreras was the prize last winter, and he delivered precisely the sort of season which might have been reasonably expected of him. Still, given how thoroughly he was scapegoated in the early going, it’s fair to wonder if the team has been reconsidering their plans for him, at least behind the plate.

President of baseball operations John Mozeliak said in July that questions about the team’s catchers would wait for the offseason. The time has arrived for answers to those questions, or at least the outlines of a plan.

One variable that’s been solved – Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch recently reported that the club will be granted a fourth option year for Iván Herrera, clearing up what otherwise may have been a backup logjam between him and Andrew Knizner.

Knizner had a career year in 2023 and proved himself a valuable part of the team’s pitching plans, but backup catchers have a shelf life. With only one more year of team control and Herrera rising behind him, his may be reaching expiry in St. Louis.

Infielders: Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt, Masyn Winn

There’s no indication that either of the cornerstones are at risk of being dislodged. Mozeliak said he plans to pursue an extension with Goldschmidt, set for free agency after 2024, but declined to specify whether he would do so over the winter or push that decision deeper into the calendar.

Arenado is cemented in place until he’s not. His late season frustrations were evident, and the Cardinals do not expect him to happily tolerate another year in last place. If one appears to be on the horizon, he has the power to dislodge himself, and has shown in the past a willingness to use it.

Winn’s defensive and base running skills are so evident as to defy a need for explanation, and historically, his bat has come around in time after advancing a level. The team has stopped short of definitively declaring him the incumbent shortstop headed into the winter, but he is the prohibitive favorite.

Each of Brendan Donovan, Tommy Edman and Nolan Gorman will play important roles in the fate of the 2024 Cardinals, but it’s impossible to say today that any or all will be in the infield. Donovan and Edman could be in the outfield. Gorman may well be at second base. He could also be a tantalizing trade piece in the search for pitching – as could the others.

Outfielders: Lars Nootbaar, Jordan Walker

Manager Oliver Marmol has said the team believes Nootbaar, one of the team’s top hitters last season when on the field, profiles best as a corner outfielder. Walker’s impressive rookie season has the club beyond eager to see a routine engagement. Perhaps he finds more at bats next season as a designated hitter, but the two of them are at the center of the team’s plans.

Edman may well be the starting center fielder in 2024. Dylan Carlson will have a shot at the job, depending on his health and whether other teams view him as an intriguing buy low candidate this winter.

It would be genuinely shocking if Tyler O’Neill isn’t traded before the team arrives in Florida for spring training. Moving on is in the best interest of all parties.

Richie Palacios showed enough in the season’s last month to upgrade himself from fringe 40-man candidate to likely bench piece, and he’s already spent time working at Driveline in Seattle to refine his skills. He and Alec Burleson seem likely to headline the team’s options from the left side off the bench.

Starters: Steven Matz, Miles Mikolas, Someone You’ve Heard Of Who Is Not Yet Under Contract

When the Cardinals say they need three starters, it’s because these two are holding down incumbency. Matz must stay healthy. Mikolas must shake off his poor command and find more swing and miss.

Zack Thompson is lurking, awaiting an opportunity. Drew Rom will be in the rotation at Memphis. The bevy of other pitchers used as starters in 2023, save for Matt Liberatore, will be pushed to and fro as roster flotsam over the winter.

Relievers: JoJo Romero

That’s it, that’s all.

Romero’s stretch as the team’s closer was impressive on the field, and he drew rave reviews for the ways he embraced the job off the field. He might not start the season in charge of the ninth inning, but he’ll have a prominent role.

Giovanny Gallegos has only one year left on his contract and relievers with his profile are historically in demand, and he’s also coming off a shoulder ailment. After Romero, he’s the closest thing to a sure bet to return.

When Ryan Helsley was on the field in 2023, he looked very much like the dominant closer who made an All-Star appearance in 2022. He missed 10 weeks with arm trouble, though, and the team has been frustrated by his lack of availability even while active. He has two more years of team control and went to an arbitration hearing last spring; neither bodes well for his long-term future in St. Louis.

Liberatore will get a shot as a lefty reliever, perhaps in the mold of Andrew Miller, in the same sort of bold career makeover. Andre Pallante had a dreadful season but has believers throughout the organization.

John King showed well down the stretch after being acquired from Texas, but has minor league options and could be pushed out by either or both of Liberatore and Pallante, who performs better against lefties than righties. The others are roster spots waiting to be emptied and then filled.