The St. Louis Cardinals are going to have a lot of personnel decisions facing them this offseason.
Some players are unfortunately going to have to be let go, as there won’t be enough money to go around.
From Lance Berkman to Tyler Greene, the Cardinals need to move on and let some other players get a chance to succeed.
Let’s take a look at three players the Cardinals shouldn’t re-sign for the 2013 season.
Lance Berkman, 1B
I love Lance Berkman, but there just won’t be room for an aging, injury-prone first baseman on the roster after the 2012 season.
With the emergence of Allen Craig this season, Berkman has even admitted that Craig deserves a bulk of the playing time at first.
And, with Matt Carpenter on the roster as a more-than-capable backup, there doesn’t seem to be much need for Berkman in the future.
Since Berkman can’t seem to stay healthy, hopefully he’ll retire after this season to avoid any contract drama this offseason.
Jake Westbrook, SP
Westbrook has had a very good year for the Cardinals, compiling an 11-8 record with a 3.79 ERA.
However, the Cardinals will face several tough decisions when it comes to starting pitchers in the near future, with Westbrook and Kyle Lohse set to have their contracts expire this offseason and Adam Wainwright’s and Chris Carpenter’s contracts expiring after the 2013 season.
There simply won’t be enough room to keep all four of these starters, especially with Jaime Garcia signed long-term and the emergence of Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly.
Westbrook is probably the odd man out in the rotation, so letting him go this offseason would be a good move.
Tyler Greene, 2B/SS
The Cardinals signed Greene to a one-year, $483,000 contract before the 2012 season.
He hasn’t even come close to living up to that meager contract and hasn’t lived up to expectations at all during his time in St. Louis.
If any player has ever needed a change of scenery, it’s Greene. He needs to get away from St. Louis and get on with his career somewhere else.
Maybe he can be a productive player in the big leagues; I don’t know. But one thing is for sure: He’ll never be a productive player in St. Louis.
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