Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals $55 Million Man Hints At St. Louis Exit

The St. Louis Cardinals aren't going to look the same the next time they play at home...
Patrick McAvoy|
Sep 20, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Miles Mikolas (39) pitches against the Milwaukee Brewers during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
Sep 20, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Miles Mikolas (39) pitches against the Milwaukee Brewers during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

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St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals are kicking off their final home game of the 2025 Major League Baseball regular season on Sunday afternoon.

The season isn't over. There are six games left, but St. Louis won't play at Busch Stadium again until 2026 and by then there could be plenty of changes in place. There's going to be plenty of time to talk about guys who potentially could get traded. But, that's not all there's going to be to watch out for. The Cardinals have one former All-Star heading into the open market. That is Miles Mikolas. He's been with the Cardinals for a while now, but it seems like this is the end of the road for him in St. Louis as his three-year, $55.7 million deal is set to expire.

Who will be back in 2026?

St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Miles Mikolas
Sep 20, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Miles Mikolas (39) pitches against the Milwaukee Brewers during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

He acknowledged the fact that his time in St. Louis could be coming to an end after what could've been his final start for the team in town on Saturday, as shared by Jeff Jones on MLB.com.

"Standing in front of his locker in Milwaukee last Sunday, Miles Mikolas mused about what the future might hold for him heading into his first free agent winter since returning from Japan ahead of the 2018 season," Jones said. "...It is safe to assume that whatever Mikolas’ future holds, it won’t be that, though the 37-year-old does intend to continue his career. On Saturday, in front of fans in St. Louis for perhaps the last time after eight years as a Cardinal, he turned in a vintage performance in a 3-2, 10-inning loss to the Brewers.

"I’ll just bottle those up until my deathbed, probably,” Mikolas joked about his emotions in the aftermath of the disappointing loss. “It’s sad, you know? The end of a pretty good run I’ve had here. Didn’t go exactly the way I wanted. I thought I threw the ball pretty well. Maybe a little bit better, it could’ve been a couple more innings or something, but, you know, yeah, it’s a little sad."

If this is the end of the run for Mikolas in St. Louis, there was a lot of positive moments.

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Patrick McAvoy
PATRICK MCAVOY

Patrick McAvoy's experiences include local and national sports coverage at the New England Sports Network with a focus on baseball and basketball. Outside of journalism, Patrick also is pursuing an MBA at Brandeis University. After quickly rising as one of the most productive writers on the site, he expanded his reach to write for Baseball Essential, a national baseball site in Sports Illustrated Media Group. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Inside The Cardinals, please reach out to Scott Neville: nevilles@merrimack.edu

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