Most overpaid players on the Cardinals roster for the 2024 season
The St. Louis Cardinals are looking for better luck in the 2024 season after their worst season in recent memory. St. Louis went 71-91 last season thanks in large part to an atrocious pitching staff. They've attempted to improve their pitching in a big way this offseason by bringing in three starting pitchers and three relievers.
One of the starting pitchers they signed was Sonny Gray who inked an affordable three-year deal worth $75 million. Gray is making just $10 million in the 2024 season, making him one of the best-valued arms for this upcoming season.
That contract looks good, but not every contract on the Cardinals' books ahead of the 2024 season looks great. These three Cardinals players in particular have contracts that can be considered overpayments.
3) Miles Mikolas, SP
Miles Mikolas was the healthiest Cardinals starter by far. He was their only starter to make more than 21 starts and their only starter to throw over 105 innings last season. With that being said, that does not mean Mikolas was good, or close to it.
In 35 starts for the Cardinals, Mikolas posted a 4.78 ERA in 201.1 innings of work. Credit to the 35-year-old for taking the ball as much as he did and pitching as deep into games as he did even when he was ineffective, but Mikolas wasn't exactly great when he did pitch. He was simply better and healthier than the other underwhelming options to take the ball.
This season, the Cardinals hope that Mikolas won't be relied on as much as he was, but he's still making a lot of money for a pitcher who was objectively bad in 2023. Mikolas' $17.6 million salary for the 2024 season makes him the fourth-highest-paid Cardinal only behind Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt, and Willson Contreras. Not great.
Mikolas had been a solid mid-rotation arm for years for St. Louis, but coming off a rough season at age 35 it's hard to expect him to suddenly turn things around. Hopefully, for their sake, he does, though, because the rotation looks extremely spotty if he does not.