Cardinals $55 Million All-Star Predicted To Leave St. Louis

Will the All-Star return to St. Louis in 2025?

Sep 5, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; A detailed view of the hat and glove of St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Nolan Gorman (not pictured) before a game against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

After two straight down seasons, changes likely will be coming to the St. Louis Cardinals this winter.

This could come in many ways. St. Louis needs to add and likely will make a flurry of additions through free agency and maybe even the trade market. The Cardinals also shouldn't bring back everyone on their current roster.

St. Louis has had two straight underwhelming seasons, and that should lead to some subtractions. FanSided's Zach Pressnell put together a list of three people who should not return to St. Louis and mentioned starting pitcher Miles Mikolas.

"The St. Louis Cardinals are going to have to find a way to dump Miles Mikolas this offseason," Pressnell said. "They have aspirations set way too high for them to have somebody on the active roster who isn't a net positive for the team. Starting pitcher Miles Mikolas is past his days when he was a contributor to a postseason team. The Cardinals still inked him to a three-year deal worth $55.75 million a few offseasons ago.

"Mikolas is entering the final year of his contract and is owed nearly $18 million. The Cardinals need to find a way to dump his contract, however possible, or their 2025 roster will never be as good as it could be."

He has had a roller coaster of a stint with the Cardinals. He was an All-Star in 2018 and 2022. He also led the National League with 14 losses in 2019 and hasn't had an ERA below 4.78 since 2022.

Mikolas may be too expensive to trade. His performance hasn't been where the Cardinals want it to be, and it would be hard to see another team want to give anything up for him. If the Cardinals want to make changes, though, Pressnell is right in saying the team should find a way to go in a different direction.

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