The St. Louis Cardinals are in quite a concerning spot as a franchise right now. They have a talented roster with plenty of veterans, but they're falling out of the postseason race.
If the Cardinals continue to fall down the National League standings, they could be in for a complete organizational overhaul in the coming months.
Over the last two months of the season, there are a ton of different Cardinals that are playing (and managing the team) on thin ice. St. Louis could be in for some serious changes before the 2025 season gets here.
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Before we dive too deep into the first player that sits on thin ice, I want to preface that I believe that Victor Scott is extremely talented and that he will eventually be a successful big leaguer. I just don't see that right now and the Cardinals cannot continue to send out such an offensive liability while they're falling apart.
On the season, Scott is slashing .119/.156/.214 with a negative WAR and an OPS+ of 2. But this includes his horrendous first stint in the big leagues where he looked similar to how bad Jackson Holliday was in his first stint. So let's look at how Scott has done since being recalled, where most Cardinals fans are insistent that he has looked much better.
Yes, Scott has looked better than he did in his first go-around. But how much does that actually mean?
Since being recalled, the Cardinals' young outfielder is slashing .200/.200/.400 with a strikeout rate near 50 percent and not a single walk across 25 plate appearances. He has the talent to eventually be an everyday big leaguer, but the Cardinals are chasing a postseason berth and they can't do that with a .110 level bat in the lineup.
The young outfielder is certainly on thin ice over these last two months.
2. OF Jordan Walker
There are not many in the baseball media who are more firm believers in Jordan Walker's ability on the baseball field than I am. Honestly, I thought that calling Walker up was a great thing. The Cardinals should be starting him every day rather than platooning him against lefties only.
But that's exactly what they're doing and that's the main reason he's going to be on thin ice. St. Louis called him up for one reason and one reason only: smash left-handed pitching. If he goes a few weeks where he struggles like he has in the past, St. Louis just won't give him the same length of leash this time. They have another outfielder that they can platoon against lefties in his place. That was the whole idea behind trading for Tommy Pham.
Walker is likely ready for the big leagues now. He just needs to see consistent playing time to find his stride and confidence.
But, given his track record that indicates he could struggle again, the Cardinals likely called him up and placed him on thin ice for the rest of the season. If he struggles, he may be sent back down before we know it.
Yes, I understand that this list is supposed to be players on thin ice, but when looking at the current state of the St. Louis Cardinals, there isn't anybody that's on thinner ice in the entire organization than their manager, Oli Marmol.
Marmol has been on the hot seat all season and his seat may have never been as hot as it is right now following an embarrassing three-game sweep to the Cincinnati Reds.
St. Louis traveled to Cincinnati having just called up their top prospect, Jordan Walker, who had been crushing minor league pitching as he looked to turn his young career back around. Marmol proceeded to sit Walker in two of the three games, opting to platoon the outfield rather than play the team's best prospect. I understand Walker hasn't been good on the season, but he's been hot in Triple-A recently and calling him up to sit him on the bench is ridiculous.
Marmol continuously plays Victor Scott when he has proven to not be ready for big-league pitching. That's just the tip of the iceberg of the questionable decisions that the Cardinals skipper has made this year.
There is almost no chance that the Cardinals will opt to send out a team that's managed by Marmol next year. If he's going to save his job, it needs to be done over the next two months.
A Skip Schumaker reunion would be the dream scenario in St. Louis this offseason.
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