Brewers division rival begins payroll overhaul with lightning fast option decisions

Believe it or not, the 2024-25 MLB offseason is just a hair over 12 hours old and the stove is already red-hot. While the Milwaukee Brewers have not made any roster moves just yet, the initial offseason moves definitely could impact the Brewers' choices and chances heading into 2025.

In the very first official day of the offseason, Randal Grichuk has already declined his option with the Diamondbacks, the White Sox declined their option over Yoan Moncada, the Braves and Angels lined up on a Jorge Soler-Griffin Canning swap, and the Cardinals have started what's going to be a very busy winter for them with a bit of a roster purge.

Cardinals' immediate payroll purge has Brewers fans on high alert

According to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals are declining their club options over Kyle Gibson, Lance Lynn and Keynan Middleton. The three right-handers were the team's only upcoming team-option decisions, and each of the trio will be paid a $1 million buyout.

Lynn, 37, went 7-4 with a 3.84 ERA and 109 ERA+ through 23 starts this season. Gibson, 36, went 8-8 with a 4.24 ERA and 99 ERA+, while Middleton spent the year on the shelf as he recovered from surgery on a flexor tendon.

It's already been made clear that the Cardinals are going to be busy re-shaping their big league squad this offseason. With a desire to get younger and cheaper, the club will move on from each of these three hurlers as well as Paul Goldschmidt and Matt Carpenter. For what it's worth, MLBTR also has closer Ryan Helsely at No. 2 on their top-35 trade candidates of the offseason list.

During the 2024 regular season, the Cardinals finished 18th in baseball in wRC+, 22nd in runs scored and 23rd in home runs. On the pitching side of things, they were 17th in ERA but 11th in FIP. If moving on from these veterans and turning their attention towards in-house candidates will fix these rankings in 2025, more power to them, but for now, the plan has not yet been made clear.

As for what this means for the Brewers, that is an interesting question. The players that that St. Louis cut bait with weren't massive contributors, but it is in line with expectations that the Cardinals could undergo a reset this offseason. With the Brewers unlikely to make any particularly splashy moves this offseason beyond trading Devin Williams away, any ground that one of their division rivals gives up would be a huge help.

However, if the Cardinals actually use the payroll savings to bolster their roster with guys that don't have one foot in a retirement home, things could be a lot harder for the Brewers in the division next season.

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