The Cardinals appear to be on the brink of waving the white flag on the 2024 season.

Aug 1, 2023; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak talks with the media after the Cardinals traded shortstop Paul DeJong (11) and starting pitcher Jack Flaherty (22) before a game against the Minnesota Twins at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports / Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Nolan Arenado continued his red-hot August with a walk-off single to give the St. Louis Cardinals a win that they had to have, but all that win really did was bring them to within one game of the .500 mark. At 66-67, St. Louis is 10.5 games back of the first-place Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central, and 7.0 games back of the third Wild Card spot with 29 games to play.

FanGraphs gives the Cardinals a 1.1 percent chance to make the playoffs even after that miraculous win, showing how difficult it’ll be for them to squeak in.

Knowing how poor those odds are, the Cardinals are already thinking about major moves. They already chose to DFA Shawn Armstrong, a player acquired at the trade deadline who was pitching well, in a move that could only really be described as a way to cut costs. The Cardinals could look to make a similar move with Tommy Pham according to Katie Woo of The Athletic (subscription required).

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It sure sounds like the Cardinals are considering making the cheapest possible move involving Tommy Pham

While Woo noted that as of Wednesday the team had no plans to place Pham on waivers, they could still do so. Their odds of making the playoffs are virtually non-existent, and assuming they realize that, Pham doesn’t serve much of a purpose.

The 36-year-old was acquired in their big trade deadline deal alongside Erick Fedde to provide a spark, particularly against left-handed pitching to a lineup that desperately needed it. In the beginning of Pham’s return to St. Louis, he did provide that spark, even playing mostly regularly for the first couple of weeks after the deal. Unfortunately, he has just three hits in his last 39 at-bats. His last extra-base hit was on August 6, 26 days ago as of this writing.

He’s struggling, the team is virtually out of it, he’s 36 years old, and is on an expiring contract. These factors make it obvious why the team would consider getting rid of him. Still, doing so essentially waves the white flag on 2024, which would be a brutal look for John Mozeliak and the entire organization.

The driving force behind Pham being let go would be the money. There’s a very good chance that another team would claim him, letting the Cardinals off the hook for the remainder of the $3 million that they owe him. With attendance being as low as it has been in recent memory, the Cardinals might be more desperate than ever to penny-pinch.

Penny pinching when you’re the St. Louis Cardinals, obviously, is a bad look. Their chances to make the postseason are extremely slim, but Pham makes them better, even if he’s struggling now. Giving Armstrong away was bad, doing so with Pham would be a worse look, especially since the Cardinals can get nothing in return except for financial relief.

It’s a tough spot to be in regardless. The Cardinals don’t want to give up, but they should also be realistic about their chances. Pham doesn’t have a future beyond 2024 with this organization, so getting a look at younger players down the stretch if they’ve given up isn’t a bad thing. The fact that they are even in this position though is so frustrating for Cardinals fans.