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3 Cardinals on thin ice for being part of St. Louis’ future plans

By Zach Pressnell

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 19: Nolan Arenado #28 and Paul Goldschmidt #46 of the St. Louis Cardinals warm up before the game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on June 19, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 19: Nolan Arenado #28 and Paul Goldschmidt #46 of the St. Louis Cardinals warm up before the game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on June 19, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images) /
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St. Louis Cardinals center fielder Dylan Carlson. (Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports)
St. Louis Cardinals center fielder Dylan Carlson. (Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports) /

The St. Louis Cardinals have been one of the most underwhelming teams in the MLB, leaving some players on thin ice for being part of the team’s future.

There aren’t many teams that have been as disappointing this season as the St. Louis Cardinals have. They were coming off a year in which they won nearly 100 games and were looking to be competitive for the World Series in 2023. But the 2022 season has no impact on results in 2023 and the Cardinals are witnessing this firsthand.

Following a rough first half of the season, they went all in as sellers and shipped away multiple pieces at the trade deadline, igniting their rebuild. With the level of disappointment that 2023 has reached, there are a few players on thin ice down the stretch of the season.

Dylan Carlson is on thin ice for being part of the Cardinals’ future

The idea of Dylan Carlson not being in the Cardinals’ future has already been rumored and discussed by the team. Around the trade deadline, Carlson was nearly traded to the Yankees, but the deal failed at the buzzer. Now, weeks later, the young Cardinal has only seen his season get worse.

On the season, the 24-year-old is only slashing .219/.318/.333 with 14 extra-base hits in almost 80 games played. But this year has only gotten worse for Carlson, especially after the trade deadline. Since Aug. 1, the outfielder’s slash line is .105/.217/.211, going 2-for-19 with two doubles and three RBIs. His poor play this year could be cause for the Cardinals to explore more trades with him in the offseason and then into next year.

Anybody who plays this poorly will be under the microscope by their team. It’s hard to imagine a player being a crucial piece of the young core if they’re struggling so mightily in their fourth season in the big leagues. Not only that, but Carlson doesn’t have a tremendous track record that could support that 2023 is just a fluke season. In fact, 2022 wasn’t much better while 2020’s Covid season was a terrible stretch of 35 games.

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