Cardinals Could Miss Playoffs in 2020 if They Don't Sort Out Multitude of Offseason Issues

If there was one year that the St. Louis Cardinals were going to win the World Series with their current core, it was 2019. Unfortunately, they ran into the machine that was the Washington Nationals and got swept out of the NLCS thanks to one of the most depressing displays of offensive ineptitude in playoff history.

And while most teams would be ready to run it back, the Cardinals have a lot of questions surrounding pretty much every facet of the team heading into the 2020 season.

The most obvious problem is that of free agent outfielder Marcell Ozuna. Along with Paul Goldschmidt, his bat comprised the heart and soul of the batting order. He mashed 29 home runs and pushed across 89 runs with the lumber last year, but it's entirely possible that he could be wearing a different uniform in 2020.

And it still remains to be seen what they'll do with another key free agent in Adam Wainwright. The 38-year-old has been a mainstay in the rotation in St. Louis for over a decade, but it's unclear if they'll bring back the aging veteran.

Adding to their problems is the injury to flame-throwing closer Jordan Hicks, who will still be recovering from Tommy John surgery at the beginning of next season. So long as he's out, the back end of the bullpen will remain weak, and the Cardinals will be forced to stick Carlos Martinez in the closer role.

As the playoffs proved, that's not an ideal setup.

And through all of this, there's still a gaping hole at the hot corner. Veteran star Matt Carpenter followed up a near-MVP caliber 2018 campaign with a subpar .726 OPS season. If he can't find his stroke again and he continues to play below-average defense, that spells trouble for the Cardinals, especially since he's owed $18.5 million per year the next two seasons.

How the team approaches these problems in the offseason will directly shape their chances at being competitive next year.