The St. Louis Cardinals are finishing up another subpar season, where they have failed to live up to their expectations.
The Cardinals contain a talented roster with proven veteran hitters and pitchers; however, they cannot put any of it together to form a winning ball club. The Cardinals' last playoff series win came in 2019 when they took down the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS, but were swept by the eventual champions, the Washington Nationals, in the NLCS. The Cardinals continued to make the postseason up until 2023, but lost in the Wild Card round every time.
It will now be three straight campaigns without a playoff appearance for the Red Birds.
On Tuesday, the Cardinals received an update on one of their star players. Wilson Contreras, who has an injury history, had an update on his mild bicep strain.
“Word on Willson Contreras is mild biceps strain. Cardinals will use next 48 hours to evaluate (Thursday is an off day for the club). They expect to have better feel for things come Friday.”
Contreras is one of the best hitters in the game. He started the season slowly but has bounced back with a 20-homerun, 80+ RBI season. He is hitting .257 with 20 homers and exactly 80 RBIs, and has an OPS of .791. He went 2-3 yesterday with a double and an RBI, hoping to finish the season strong.
The 33-year-old first baseman and former catcher is on a big contract with the Cardinals, as he signed a 5-year deal worth $87.5 million in 2022. He has a club option in 2028 and will be an unrestricted free agent in 2029. St. Louis has time to flip the script and keep Contreras a big part of the future.
It's unclear what direction the Cardinals will head after this season, but being a team right in the middle of the pack is not a place you want to be every year. St. Louis is currently 73-78 and will likely end the year below .500.
