By Nate Hagerty
Contributing Sports Writer
The St. Louis Cardinals have officially entered the 2024 offseason and are ready to make the necessary changes to fix their broken organization.
Sadly, this season didn't pan out the way Cardinals fans had hoped when the front office successfully retooled the pitching staff last winter.
The pitching acquisitions from last offseason weren't enough to avoid back-to-back seasons of missing the playoffs. With the Cardinals looking to rebuild, a few hurlers acquired last winter are no longer needed.
"(Cardinals) are NOT picking up the 2025 options for Kyle Gibson, Lance Lynn, or Keynan Middleton," St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Derrick Goold reported Thursday afternoon. "Each has a $1-million buyout. John Mozeliak says the team is seeking 'maximum flexibility' with the decisions."
All three hurlers were signed last winter when the Cardinals looked to rebound from a tumultuous 91-loss season in 2023.
Gibson and Lynn held their own as aging veterans. Although they were successful back-end hurlers, it wouldn't make sense for St. Louis to pick up either of their options -- the former costing $12 million and the latter $11 million.
As for Middleton, he was robbed of making his Cardinals debut after suffering a right forearm strain that required season-ending surgery.
Although Middleton's reasonably economical price tag of $6 million makes him a tempting option for the Cardinals to retain, his presence takes a roster spot for a younger hurler to gain big-league experience.
St. Louis is prepared to reduce payroll this winter, and the front office's recent decisions indicate that more significant changes are coming.
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