3 Players Who Definitely Won't Be on the Cardinals 2020 Roster

Rarely would it be necessary for a team that made the NLCS to being need of a total makeover, but the St. Louis Cardinals emphatically proved that this group as it is currently constructed is not capable of winning a championship, evidenced by the fact they were curb-stomped by the Washington Nationals. St. Louis will have to say goodbye to some familiar faces if they are serious about contending.

3. SP Michael Wacha

Wacha's regression this year was shocking in how quick it was, as he was relegated to the bullpen for a brief period after posting a combined 3.82 ERA the last two seasons. His 4.76 ERA and 90 ERA+ in 2019 are simply not adequate marks for a Cardinals team that started to show how flawed the rotation is in its current state down the stretch. A free agent after this year, Wacha has likely thrown his last pitch as a Redbird.

2. INF Matt Carpenter

Just one year after setting new personal bests in home runs and RBI, Carpenter produced career lows in those same categories, all the while losing a starting spot to rookie Tommy Edman. Carpenter's $18.5 million salary is much too expensive for a utility infielder off the bench, so a trade might be the best way to free themselves of his deal while getting something else in return to help another area of the roster.

1. SP Adam Wainwright

Wainwright was able to turn back the clock for the majority of this season, and especially in the playoffs, when he posted a 4.19 ERA at the age of 37. As impressive as this year was, Wainwright is going to be 38 when next season rolls around, and keeping him around would be doing little more than holding on to some nostalgia and blocking talented pitchers in the minor leagues. Either through him retiring or St. Louis parting ways, we might have seen the last of Wainwright as a Cardinal.