The St. Louis Cardinals have officially been knocked out of postseason contention after falling to the San Francisco Giants on Sept. 24. In their "runway" season, the Cardinals acquired some valuable information about several players, and despite their disappointing finish to the year, not all of the knowledge they gleaned was negative. The Cardinals had several players take steps forward this season and show that they can be a part of the team's core going forward.
However, plenty of other players failed to deliver what the Cardinals had hoped to see and have hastened the team's lurch toward a full rebuild.