3 Areas to Improve with Cardinals Eliminated from Playoff Contention

With Friday night's 9-1 loss to the Washington Nationals at Busch Stadium, the St. Louis Cardinals were officially eliminated from postseason contention. It will be the fourth straight October without playoff baseball in the Gateway to the West.

This is the longest such streak since the Cardinals went from 1988-95 without reaching the playoffs. Now, St. Louis will look to finish what has been an otherwise exciting season on a high note.

With a few tweaks, they could potentially find themselves back in the mix in 2027. Here are three areas that need improvement if that is going to be their goal.

Fix the bullpen

Sep 14, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Riley O'Brien (61) reacts after the Cardinals defeated the San Francisco Giants at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The bullpen was always the main achilles heel for this team. Entering Saturday's slate of games, St. Louis has a 4.55 bullpen ERA, the fifth worst in the National League. Riley O'Brien ran out of gas towards the end of the season, as did George Soriano.

They could obviously use some extra relief arms over the winter, but more specifically, they could use somebody who has closing experience to take some of the pressure off of O'Brien and keep him fresh through the season.

A deeper bullpen could be a true difference maker in 2027 as the Cardinals look to build off of their progress from this year.

Figure out third base

Third base has been a hole for this team since Nolan Arenado was traded. Nolan Gorman clearly isn't the answer, though Thomas Saggese and Blaze Jordan showed off their potential this year and could be options if they want to make the fix internally.

There also is a chance that they got dive into the free agent market for somebody. Perhaps Bo Bichette could be considered if he opts out of his deal with the New York Mets. Another thing they can do is see if Jesus Baez takes the next step towards the big leagues.

The Cardinals at least have some internal options here, but if they want to be back in the mix, adding somebody from the outside could make sense. Other options include Eugenio Suarez, Mauricio Dubon, Luis Arraez and potentially even Gleyber Torres.

Add a starter

Sep 18, 2026; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Dustin May (21) pitches in the second inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The starting rotation has mostly held together this season, but it would be wise for Chaim Bloom to explore that market again this winter. Last offseason, he brought in Dustin May, who could be back on the market again soon if his mutual option is declined.

Other options include Shane Bieber, Zac Gallen and Chris Bassitt, all three starters who will be looking to rebuild their value in 2027.

The dream scenario would be to sign Tarik Skubal or potentially even bring back Sonny Gray, but those moves are highly unlikely. Still, the Cardinals could use a starter to boost their rotation, and it will be interesting to see where they land.

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