It’s been their worst season in years, but here’s why you should keep watching the Cardinals

With just more than three weeks remaining in the most interminable St. Louis Cardinals season of the last two decades, it can be difficult to find reasons to stay locked in on the day to day.

Even those who spend nearly every day at the ballpark are staring ahead at months of pending roster intrigue attached to very little that seems to matter between the white lines on a daily basis, undercutting the importance of the here and now.

There are, however, reasons to stay dialed in, and things to come in the season’s last few dozen games which might be either instructive for the years to come or celebratory for the years which have gone. It is, if nothing else, a great excuse to pretend it’s still summer.

The Beginning

Jordan Walker’s season took a big dip in July. With the dog days setting in and a month removed from his sojourn to the minors, he managed only a .209 batting average and .609 OPS for the month, leaving him mired in a sinkhole which in part reflected the foundering team around him.

In August, though, he bounced back to solid production, and his first week of September has been off the charts. It’s certainly not a coincidence that he’s found his stroke just as best friend and fellow top prospect Masyn Winn found his way to the big leagues for the first time; teammates, coaches, and even Walker and Winn themselves predicted that the duo would bring out the best in each other.

Winn’s somewhat rocky start at the plate has seen a slight uptick in recent days, and he lofted his first career home run on Wednesday night in front of Walker’s family in the far stretches of Atlanta’s suburbs. The team’s preference for Winn to cement himself as the opening day shortstop in 2024 is as clear as it was this past spring for Walker to seize his own spot.

The Cardinals tend to be good at manufacturing their own reality. With these two, the team is seeing a great deal of the heavy lifting and consent manufacturing done on their behalf. Think of this as a sneak peak of a potentially classic film.

The End

Entering Thursday night’s game at Truist Park, Adam Wainwright has five scheduled starts remaining in his august career. Assuming he remains on regular rest, two of the five will come at home; despite not currently being lined up for it, bet on his last being the season’s last game, October 1st against the Reds.

Both Wainwright and manager Oli Marmol said last week that the righthander’s schedule was altered primarily due to body and arm soreness he suffered during his most recent appearance, and it was merely good luck and happenstance that allowed him to get one final farewell in his home state against the team which drafted and largely developed him.

They did not, out of respectful deference, then ask if any of the assembled media would be interested in purchasing the Brooklyn Bridge.

Stuck on 198 wins since the middle of June, it’s fair to wonder Wainwright can possibly squeeze two more victories out of his remaining assignments, most of which will come against strong postseason contenders (at Atlanta, at Baltimore, Milwaukee, at San Diego, Cincinnati). Whatever the reason for the schedule shift, it removed one Wainwright start from the calendar and also significantly increased his degree of difficulty.

If 200 remains elusive, it will change very little about Wainwright’s legacy. Nor will this season, his last and worst. He’ll be remembered on balance for the other 17 of his 18 seasons, and that will be well deserved.

One thing to watch: the MLB designated hitter rule says a player who is written into the lineup as both pitcher and DH can continue in the game at one of those spots after surrendering the other. This is commonly referred to as the Shohei Ohtani Rule, given that he keeps hitting in games he’s left as a pitcher.

All eyes will be on who the Cardinals pencil in at DH for Wainwright’s last start, and how long it may have been since a particular 6-7 righty took a cut.

The Middle

As many as a dozen players currently on the Cardinals’ 40-man roster could cycle themselves out of the organization within the winter’s first two weeks. For those on the fringes, opportunities to assert themselves in the team’s future plans will be abundant.

Dakota Hudson has been consistently himself and found good results since rejoining the rotation. Do the Cardinals see a place for him on the staff of their next good team? Richie Palacios has brought bolts of energy, speed and flexibility. Can he play well enough to soften the blow of trading away a utility ace like Tommy Edman?

Can Paul Goldschmidt finish strong and ease concerns about a potential extension? Does Andrew Knizner continue to make the catching situation complicated? Can Taylor Motter grab another opportunity and battle his way back to the bench in 2024? (No, he can’t.)

The carousel doesn’t stop turning with the calendar pages. This season has been by and large a complete waste for the Cardinals, but even as its time mercifully burns out, it still contains a great deal more to learn.