The St. Louis Cardinals will lose 2 stars because of the Miller and Carpenter contracts

Everyone outside of the front office at Busch Stadium can see that the St. Louis Cardinals need a clean-up hitter to make the team a legitimate contender in the National League.

It’s so obvious where this team needs to improve and how it needs to do it that the most casual fan can see it from a mile away. As I write this, the Cardinals wasted a lead-off triple off the bat of Dylan Carlson when Harrison Bader struck out on a slider a foot outside and then Tommy Edman hit into a double play. This team’s ability to strand runners boggles the mind.

Until now, I have been left to wonder if the team would open up the checkbook and add the piece it needs in order to be able to score runs on a relatively consistent basis. But, thanks to a couple of bad deals coming back to bite them, I’m seriously starting to wonder if the team will be able to even stand pat next season.

In the last few days, fan had to suffer the indignity of seeing the Cardinals over-paid, under-performing lefty reliever Andrew Miller cash in big time by triggering an appearance clause to guarantee a $12 million payday in 2021. Now it seems as if the Cardinals can’t figure out that Matt Carpenter and his .185 average is in reach of triggering a clause to add another year at $18 million to his current deal with 550 plate appearances in 2021.

That’s potential $30 million thrown into the furnace and burned, making it likely that the Cardinals won’t be better next year — and they will be hamstrung the year after that, too. I think I’m going to be ill.

According to Baseball Reference, the Cardinals are already on the hook for more than $110 million for the 2021 season. And that’s without extensions for Cardinals cornerstones Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina. If St. Louis wants to sign those two players — and how can it not extend them not only because of their importance to the organization, but also because they’re two of the most productive players on the roster this year. You can count on it costing at least another $20 million between them. That’s $130 million before you even think about raises for the young players working their way up the salary scale. And it’s just $30 million short of the $160 million on the books for this year before the COVID-19 crisis struck. Sure, you could probably add a big bat for $30 million a year. But what about the other roster spots the Cardinals are going to need to fill?

Who might the Cardinals have to cut?

Brad Miller is a free agent. John Gant is a useful piece who will cost the Cardinals a decent amount of money to keep. Plus, who is to say that $160 million would even be the target for next year. The Cardinals laid off scouts and office workers last week. They don’t make nearly as much money as a single average player. It’s a bad sign that the future looks dim enough for 2021 that the team cut its support staff to the bone.

So, it looks like if the team is going to improve the offense, it is going to have to cut other pieces that are going to hurt. While I’ve mentioned recently that Carlos Martinez is a prime candidate for a trade to save $12 million, are there going to be many takers for a sizable contract with the financial uncertainty that hangs over the game? We don’t even know if fans will be allowed into parks in 2021. That sounds crazy. But the Arizona Fall League was canceled Tuesday and the best case scenario for a vaccination for COVID is the end of the year. It could take months to distribute the vaccination to hundreds of millions of people. So it’s suddenly easy to believe that the pandemic could bleed into the start of spring training in February and the start of the regular season in April. If ballpark capacity was limited to 25 percent, 50 percent or even 75 percent, it would greatly affect the revenue streams of franchises. Tough economic times because of the pandemic could take a serious bite out of advertising. So, there is just no way to know what kind of money teams are going to have in the budget six months from now.

I’ve previously mentioned that Kolten Wong could be a guy to go because of his contract option for a hefty $12.5 million. I’ve taken a lot of flack on that one from fans who think the slick-fielding, iffy-hitting second sacker is indispensable. But I’d put the odds of Wong being with the Cardinals in 2021 at less than 50 percent at this point. That’s too much money to pay for a sub-par lead-off hitter who has a good glove — but at a non-premium defensive position. Especially when the team has front office favorite Edman able to slide into the second base spot for about one-twentieth of what Wong makes. The only way I see the incumbent coming back is if there are no other takers for the lefty batter and he is willing to re-sign with the Cardinals for about one-third of what he makes now — and that’s not something we’re likely to see happen.

I never believed, until the Miller option was announced, that Molina wouldn’t be with the Cardinals next year. Unlike Wong, Molina is a proven leader and a team that is a strong contender could make a bid for him as that one guy who could put them over the top. If he went, I wonder if he’d take his best pal Wainwright with him. If so, I don’t know how much fun the Cardinals are going to be to watch next season.

Scott Wuerz

Belleville News-Democrat

Scott Wuerz has written “Cheap Seats,” a St. Louis Cardinals fan blog for the Belleville News-Democrat, since 2007. He is a former BND reporter who covered breaking news and education.