3 St. Louis Cardinals free agents who will leave, 2 who will return in 2024
By Mark Powell
Taylor Motter could use a fresh start
Taylor Motter hit under .200 last season in St. Louis and didn't receive much of an opportunity. Motter has never posted an OPS above .600 in his MLB career, and at this point he has bounced around plenty. Odds are that trend will continue, albeit somewhere new. As I wrote a few weeks back, Motter's return always seemed unlikely given his production:
"Motter was a sub-.200 hitter this season and failed to provide much besides infield depth. At 34 years old, Motter will be cheap this offseason as he's a free agent. If St. Louis wants more depth in its minor-league system, then perhaps they can offer that option to Motter plus a spring-training invite. Anything more is unlikely."
The smart money is on Motter signing elsewhere, perhaps as a spring training pickup meant to test a team's infield depth. Hopefully a fresh start does him some good, but he's wasting his time with the Cardinals.