6 surprising St. Louis Cardinals who could return next season

The St. Louis Cardinals have promised to have a busy offseason. After several seasons in which the club should have bolstered their pitching staff, Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak plans to make good on this idea.

Instead of depending on what they already have and hoping for the best, Mozeliak plans to bring on at least three pitchers while acknowledging they will have more than the usual five-man rotation going forward. Meaning, that they could include some of the shining stars they have discovered since deciding to concentrate on what they have to bring into 2024.

With Adam Wainwright retiring at the end of the season, Miles Mikolas and Steven Matz are the only starting pitchers signed beyond this season. Drew Rom, who came to St. Louis in the deal for Jack Flaherty, could be an option for the rotation along with Zack Thompson and Dakota Hudson. The Cardinals also have other internal options who could see time in 2024 including Gordon Graceffo, Cooper Hjerpe, Michael McGreevy, Adam Kloffenstein and Tekoah Roby.

The Cardinals already seem in better shape than they were before 2023. But they will still need a veteran presence. A couple of veteran arms would be an excellent addition. The team could even use a veteran outfielder who can hit to add to a young outfield that includes Jordan Walker and Lars Nootbaar.

While it seems certain there will be some change in the offseason, there could be some surprises for fans about who may stick around. Drew VerHagen is the only remaining free agent after the other free agents were traded. Several players will be in their individual seasons of arbitration eligibility and it will be curious to see if the Cardinals tender those players a contract or nontender the players, and move on.

Lets discuss some players who could surprisingly be back with the Cardinals for 2024.