Photo credit: Taka Yanagimoto/St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals have been considered one of the best organizations at developing homegrown talent over the years. However, they have been left behind by the majority of Major League teams with a farm system ranking of 19. After a two year absence from the playoffs, the front office has finally taken their head out of the sand and admitted their failures. With Chaim Bloom poised to take over, a long overdue change in the way they do things is finally in it’s initial stages. It’s unlikely they will be doing much spending in free agency with a new focus on overhauling their player development and analytics department.
Cardinals Make Changes at the Top
The 2024 season was an improvement on the previous year without a doubt, but it was still a disappointment by the Cardinals’ standards. The day after the season ended, the organization announced several changes. At the top of the list was signing Bloom to be President of Baseball Operations starting in 2026. To the joy of many Cardinal fans, John Mozeliak will be stepping down after the 2025 season. The two will work together in 2025 with Bloom taking over in 2026.
Additionally, ownership announced they would be investing with a renewed focus on player development. The organization wants to change their priorities from acquiring talent to growing it.
“We’ve always prided ourselves on drafting and developing our own players. It’s clear that we need to make significant changes to get back to this model.” Dewitt Jr. said.
The Cardinals ranked number twelve this season with a payroll of $175.9 million. A big piece of that is likely to come off the books with the expected departure of Paul Goldschmidt. Also, they might look to move some veterans if they’re truly all in on a rebuild. The large payroll with mediocre results shines a spotlight on Mozeliak’s abysmal record in free agency. This plus his inability to evolve in player development and analytics are the true cause of the big changes looming.
Important Personnel Decisions Ahead
One of the most important tasks this off-season will be finding a replacement for longtime Director of Player Development Gary LaRoche. He has announced that he will be retiring. Seemingly, Bloom understands the need to evolve and improve. Hopefully, the new Director of Player Development will be someone who understands the need to evolve constantly as well. The current state of the organization is a result of doing the exact opposite.
Additionally, payroll will likely be down due to the focus on development and analytics. Mozeliak confirmed this during his end of season press conference saying “I would anticipate seeing payroll go down because of these investments.” Undoubtedly, there will be many fans unhappy to hear that.
The Cardinals can also shrink the payroll by parting ways with some of their pitchers. They hold team options on Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson. The two would earn a combined 23 million dollars next season if the team picks up their options, so it’s likely that the team will decline both to save money. Furthermore, they could look to move on from Miles Mikolas, Steven Matz, and Erick Fedde. All three are in the last year of their contracts. Unfortunately, Fedde is the only one who could get a decent return.
The Cardinals would most likely have to eat the majority of what’s owed on the contracts of Mikolas and Matz if they want another team to take them on. However, even if they are able to shed a large portion of payroll, it probably won’t be spent on the big league roster. With the new focus on rebuilding the farm system and uncertainty in regard to their television contract, it is highly unlikely that any free agents of significance will be added to the roster.
Cardinals’ Youngsters Should Give Fans Hope
The Cardinals have a young core of players that should excite fans about the future. Position players such as Brendan Donovan, Alec Burleson, and Masyn Winn have already shown that they are capable starters at the big league level. Jordan Walker, Nolan Gorman, and Lars Nootbaar all have the raw talent, but they still need to figure some things out. Additionally, minor leaguer Thomas Saggese is likely to make a push to be on the big league roster next season and the team’s 2024 top draft pick J.J. Wetherholt is one to watch. He is one of the best young hitting prospects that they have had in years. There are also some intriguing pitching prospects on the way.
Headlining the young pitching core is the Cardinals’ number two and three prospects, Tink Hence and Quinn Mathews. Additionally, Andre Pallante, who is still only 25, pitched well this season, and Michael McGreevy did well in his short stint at the big league level. There are also several more intriguing arms in development. Honestly, it’s probably the best batch of pitching prospects the organization has had in a long time.
When asked about the young players, Dewitt Jr. had this to say. “When you think about it, we ended up winning 83 games. There was a positive. Young players were a big part of that. I think it’s an exciting team to watch and to follow and to see the other young players coming up. If I were a fan, I would be kind of excited for the future, I see what we have, I see what’s coming, and you know change can be good.”
Long Road Ahead
The Cardinals have a long road ahead in terms of a rebuild. However, the strong batch of young players should enable them to be competitive during the process. Cardinal fans should expect a couple more years of no big free agent signings and the struggles that accompany a young team. This isn’t ideal, but it’s where the organization is. The front office has been trying to avoid a rebuild for several years. However, their ineptitude has given them no other options than the current course.
