50¶È»ÒÊÓƵ

Coming off a second consecutive season without a playoff appearance, the Cardinals used their first day of the offseason to lay out plans for what the 2025 season may look like with a “reset� coming on their player development system and an expected decrease in payroll at the major league level.

“Our baseball decisions going forward will focus on developing our pipeline of players, giving our young core every opportunity to succeed at the major league level,� Chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. said in his opening remarks of Monday’s news conference at Busch Stadium. “... We have a strong group of young players, and we will continue to push for ways to get better in the short term, and our No. 1 priority will be to lay the foundation for a sustained period of competitive excellence in the years ahead.�

During the 2024 season, the Cardinals were the 12th-younger team across the majors in average age for their hitters at 27.6 years old, per Baseball Reference. Their pitching staff, bolstered by three offseason signings of veteran starters Sonny Gray, Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn, was the fourth-oldest group in MLB, with an average age of 30.8 years old.

The combination of 50¶È»ÒÊÓƵ’ young core of position players and experienced pitching resulted in an 83-79 season that was not enough to clinch a postseason berth but avoided a second consecutive season with a losing record.

In the coming weeks, the Cardinals will make decisions that may begin to shape what the youth movement will look like. The club has $12 million options on Gibson and Lynn to keep the two for 2025. It would cost the Cardinals $2 million to buy out those options, making both hurlers free agents.

Of the pitchers who started games in 2024 for 50¶È»ÒÊÓƵ, Gray, Miles Mikolas, Erick Fedde, and Steven Matz are all under contract for next season.

If spots in the rotation open and the Cardinals lean into their youth to fill openings, 26-year-old right-hander Andre Pallante got a look in that role this past season and posted a 3.56 ERA in 111â…“ innings across 20 starts. Michael McGreevy, a 24-year-old righty and former first-round pick, made three starts and an appearance out of the bullpen during his introduction to the big leagues. McGreevy sported a 1.96 ERA in 23 total innings. He held a 2.25 ERA in 20 innings as a starter.

“I definitely think someone like a McGreevy does deserve an opportunity to be in the rotation,� Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said on Monday. “But right now, our rotation is pretty full. As we take the next few weeks, we’re going to navigate that, and ultimately, you guys will hear about some of those decisions that we make prior to the end of the World Series, and some won’t, and so that’ll just take us into November.�

Within the Cardinals farm system, which is ranked No. 21 by Baseball America in its midseason rankings, left-hander Quinn Mathews has moved closer to the big league radar.

In his first year as a pro, the 23-year-old Mathews struck out an MiLB-leading 202 batters and maintained a 2.76 ERA in 143â…“ innings from Class Low-A to Class AAA. Mathews, a fourth-round pick in the 2023 MLB draft, was named minor league pitcher of the year by both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline. He made four starts in Class AAA before the minor league season wrapped up. He had a 6.48 ERA in 16â…” innings during his first test at that level.

The Cardinals opened the 2024 season with five players in its starting lineup who were 25 years old or younger in shortstop Masyn Winn (22), second baseman Nolan Gorman (23), center fielder Victor Scott II (23), right fielder Jordan Walker (21) and designated hitter Alec Burleson (25).

Of those, Winn and Burleson were the only two who remained at the major league level for the entirety of the 2024 season.

Winn took over everyday duties at shortstop and led all shortstops in defensive runs saves with plus-14, per FanGraphs. He batted .267 with 15 home runs and a .314 on-base percentage. He tied for second on the team in both hits (157) and at-bats (587) while leading in runs scored with 85. In 102 games started in the leadoff spot, Winn posted a .248 batting average, 23 doubles and 13 homers.

Meanwhile, Burleson, who turns 26 in late November, batted .269 with 21 home runs and a .734 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) in 152 games. Burleson played 49 games in right field, 31 in left field and 15 at first base — where he could play more regularly in 2025 as the spot opens with Paul Goldschmidt set to hit free agency. In his first opportunity as an everyday player in the majors, Burleson did not homer in the final 38 games he played.

50¶È»ÒÊÓƵ also received a glimpse of a potential positional player piece moving forward when infielder Thomas Saggese debuted in September. The 22-year-old Saggese, who batted .253 with 20 homers and a .751 on-base plus slugging percentage in 125 Class AAA games, hit .204 in 49 at-bats while receiving time in the field at second base, shortstop and third base.

“Certainly, when you look at the group right now, of our top prospects, there’s a lot to be excited about,� Mozeliak said. “... I really feel like the overall vibe of what’s happening in our organization is a lot more positive than maybe people are making it out to be, but ultimately, we know we can find better ways to do things, and that’s ultimately our goal.�

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The Cardinals finished 22nd with 672 runs scored. They tied for 22nd with 165 homers. They were 22nd with 91 stolen bases. You get the picture — this was a decidedly below-average offense, as these grades will reflect. Their fielding was fine in some areas, not great in others. The precipitous decline of veterans Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado, combined with the loss of Willson Contreras to injuries and the sudden collapse of young sluggers Jordan Walker and Nolan Gorman were the primary concerns.

Masyn Winn

At the age of 22 he became the face of the franchise with his swagger and steady all-around play. Winn earned a team-high 4.9 WAR from Baseball Reference while hitting .267 with 32 doubles, 15 homers and 11 stolen bases. That performance, after he hit just .172 in a 37-game trial last season, was the single most positive revelation. He persevered through back soreness and he nursed late-season arm soreness while playing 150 games as a rookie. The grind finally took its toll as he hit just .192 with a .616 OPS in September. But he dug in and tried to power through.

Grade: A

Alec Burleson

With other outfielders suffering injuries and/or slumps, Burleson seized the opportunity to break through. He hit .269 with 21 homers and a team-high 78 RBIs. He hit .280 with runners in scoring position. Burleson wore down while batting just .202 with no homers, six RBIs and a .510 OPS in September. Had he not gone 5-for-12 with three walks and four RBIs in the season’s final series, that fade would have been even more dramatic. Still, he was on the short list of Cardinals who exceeded expectations this season.

Grade: B

Brendan Donovan

In his final 100 plate appearances he hit .360 with a .971 OPS to polish up his season numbers. Donovan struck a balance between getting on base and doing damage. His on-base percentage has declined from .394 to .365 and .342 during the last two seasons. But Donovan logged 652 plate appearances this season and set career highs in doubles (34), homers (14) and RBIs (73). While recovering from arm surgery this season, he didn’t see fill-in work on the left side of the infield. His hitting profile is a better fit for a super-utility role than everyday work at second base or left field, but he plugs in where needed.

Grade: B

Willson Contreras

Between bone fractures, he had 15 homers and 36 RBIs in 358 plate appearances. But Contreras hit just .210 with runners in scoring position and he was just 3-for-30 with RISP and two outs. He drew 45 walks and got hit by 12 pitches, which helped him build a .380 on-base percentage and an .848 OPS. But one of those HBPs left him with a season-ending finger fracture. Contreras made a concerted effort to improve his pitch framing which, unfortunately, led to his broken forearm. He threw out 23 percent of runners trying to steal, which was the second-worst percentage of his career.

Grade: B

Michael Siani

He climbed the depth chart and took over in center field due to his exceptional fielding range. Via Statcast, Siani recorded 15 outs above average. He earned a reprieve and narrowly qualified for Gold Glove consideration. His untimely oblique injury derailed his season offensively. After returning from the IL, he went 8-for-64 (.125) in September — albeit with 10 walks and six stolen bases. Since he hit just .228 with a .570 OPS overall, it remains to be seen if he can become more than an excellent defensive replacement.

Grade: B

Pedro Pages

He developed into a worthy backup catcher while offering a big upgrade from Andrew Knizner. Pages did a fine job working with the hurlers, executing game plans and framing pitches. He threw out 19 percent of runners attempting to steal, which made him a better fill-in option than Ivan Herrera behind the plate. Pages was a competitive hitter, batting .276 with two outs and runners in scoring position. Overall he hit .257 with a .704 OPS in the second half of the season while settling in at this level.

Grade: B

Ivan Herrera

He progressed nicely as a hitter this season, batting .301 with an .800 OPS. He hit .274 with runners in scoring position. He grounded into just three double plays in 229 at-bats. While back down at Memphis, he hit .280 with an .875 OPS. His hit tool is real. Ah, but Herrera’s inability to control the running game became exposed when he replaced the injured Contreras. He threw out just 7 percent of the baserunners attempting to steal against him. Can he make at least incremental progress with intensive offseason work on his mechanics?

Grade: B-minus

Matt Carpenter

He returned to the STL to serve as the veteran “bench captain� and provide some offense off the bench. Carpenter did OK on both fronts. He hit .286 in limited time coming off the bench and .234 overall, which was notable for a veteran who finished below the Mendoza Line in three of his previous four seasons. This team has seen popular veterans suffer an ugly farewell season wearing the Birds on Bat, so this wasn’t so bad.

Grade: C

Thomas Saggese

His ability to play three infield positions could give him a leg up on the utility role next season. But Saggese experienced an uneven offensive year after earning Texas League MVP honors at the Double-A level in 2023. He heated up in July at Memphis, hitting .349 with a .990 OPS, before cooling down again. Saggese offsets his lack of natural power by taking violent swings. He hit .204 in limited duty during his first big league tour. Can he become more selectively aggressive?

Grade: C

Lars Nootbaar

He finished with a flourish while hitting .290 with a .986 OPS in September. That allowed Nootbaar to move his full-season numbers (.244 batting average, .342 on-base percentage, .758 OPS) closer to his career norms. But injuries and inconsistency marred his season, again, and it remains unclear if Nootbaar can become a cornerstone player as this franchise resets. He is mostly a corner outfielder and corner outfielders need to produce runs. Nootbaar hit .227 with runners in scoring position and .216 with RISP and two outs.

Grade: C-minus

Luken Baker

The Bunyan-sized hitting prospect got another big league look and he had his moments. After clubbing 32 homers in 375 at-bats at Memphis, Baker went 7-for-40 with two homers, a double, a triple, two sacrifice flies and 10 RBIs during his late-season look with the Cardinals. He hit .258 over 2,423 minor league plate appearances in six seasons, so it remains to be seen if he can make enough contact to exploit his massive raw power.

Grade: C-minus

Victor Scott II

Injuries forced him into the lead role on center field to start the season … and he was clearly not ready for that. He started 17 times in April, played in 20 games overall and went just 5-for-59 at the plate before returning to Memphis. Eventually he got back on track at Triple-A, posting a .711 OPS in July and hitting .256 in August with his revamped swing. In 86 at-bats for the Cardinals in the latter half of the season he hit .244. He must learn to exploit his uncommon speed in the field by taking better routes to fly balls. On the bases, he must learn to steal more bases against big league defenses.

Grade: C-minus

Nolan Arenado

In his prime, Arenado delivered seven seasons with 30 or more homers. For Colorado he topped 40 homers three times while playing Mile High home games. After powering up for 90 homers 301 RBIs in his first three seasons in 50¶È»ÒÊÓƵ, he produced just 16 homers and 71 RBIs this season while earning more than $30 million. He faded late, hitting just one homer and driving in just eight runs during 23 games in September. After earning 7.7 WAR in 2022, he slipped to 2.4 and 2.5 the last two seasons. On the plus side, he hit .272 with runners in scoring position and .283 with RISP and two outs. He also recorded nine outs above average at third base, per Statcast.

Grade: C-minus

Paul Goldschmidt

After hitting just .230 with a .664 OPS during the first half of the season, he did more damage in the second half while batting .271 with a .799 OPS. But for a player making more than $25 million, his bottom line for the season was poor: .245 batting average, 22 homers, 65 RBIs and a career-low .716 OPS in 599 at-bats. He hit .203 with runners in scoring position. After posting 7.7 WAR during his MVP season in 2022, he regressed to 3.1 last season and to 1.3 this season. Try as he might, he couldn't turn back the clock as he turned 37.

Grade: D

Jose Fermin

He hit .311 with a 924 OPS during his stints at Memphis this season, which earned him promotions to the big leagues. Alas, his offensive success at the Triple-A level did not translate. Fermin hit .173 during his spot starts for the Cardinals and just .105 off the bench. His inability to fill in defensively at shortstop further limited his value.

Grade: D

Jordan Walker

He hit .155 in his first 20 games, earning his demotion to Memphis. He went 2-for-20 during his pointless August recall. Finally given a chance to resume regular duty with the big club, Walker hit .253 with a .780 OPS in September. His season turnaround began in Memphis, where he hit .294 in August with an .830 OPS. He climbed from the abyss to finish just over the Mendoza Line with a .201 season batting average for the Cardinals. Now he faces a huge offseason. Walker is just 22, but two years into major league career he still needs a LOT of work as a hitter and outfielder.

Grade: D

Nolan Gorman

He progressed nicely in his second major league season, posting an .805 OPS with 27 homers and 76 RBIs in 2023. Gorman struck out a lot and delivered his run production in streaks, but he was still trending well. Then this season happened. Gorman struggled early, rebounded a bit in May and then cratered in June — batting .141 with 42 strikeouts in 99 at-bats. Unlike Walker, he failed to turn things around after his demotion to Memphis. Gorman hit .196 in his last 15 games at the Triple-A level, albeit with five homers in 56 at-bats. Like Walker, he faces a pivotal offseason. Which direction will his career go?

Grade: D-minus

Brandon Crawford

The Cardinals signed him to provide Winn insurance. Winn didn’t need insurance — and Crawford proved to be useless, batting .169 in very limited action before getting sent home. The offensively challenged Cardinals could scarcely afford to waste a bench slot on him.

Grade: F

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Tasking Chaim Bloom to upgrade the Cardinals’ player development was a positive step for the DeWitt ownership.

But producing prospects hasn’t been the franchise’s biggest weakness. Asset mismanagement is what knocked the Cardinals off their National League Central perch.

The front office ignored the data on age-related athletic decline and invested heavily in older players.

Yadier Molina’s farewell season was bad. Adam Wainwright’s final tour was worse, despite his musical interludes. Paul Goldschmidt’s contract aged poorly, and the rest of Nolan Arenado’s deal threatens to do the same.

This season, the Cardinals got poor returns from the roughly $75 million allocated to Goldschmidt, Arenado and Miles Mikolas. More than $30 million more went to Willson Contreras and Steven Matz, whose contributions were limited by injury.

While there was internal finger-pointing at player development again, the biggest failures came from the highest-paid players.

It’s no wonder ownership is looking to slash payroll. Arenado has about $75 million left on his contract. Sonny Gray has another $65 million coming, and Contreras will collect about $54 million more. Mikolas and Matz are due about $30 million between them next season.

To rebuild, the Cardinals must expand their young talent base and manage their assets better.

Remember when the front office felt it had a pitching prospect surplus? That led to the disastrous trade of Sandy Alcantara and Zac Gallen for two years of Marcell Ozuna.

The franchise that once had an outfield surplus ended up giving away Tyler O’Neill and Dylan Carlson. Earlier, it unclogged its pipeline by moving Randy Arozarena, Adolis Garcia, Lane Thomas, Stephen Piscotty and Harrison Bader, among others.

Owner Bill DeWitt Jr. and lame duck president of baseball operations John Mozleiak are bullish on the surviving group of young veterans and prospects. And yes, the group largely measures up to the prospects developed back in Jeff Luhnow’s player development heyday.

The Cardinals didn’t find another Albert Pujols or Yadier Molina back then, but they pushed a steady parade of players to the majors. Many of the younger players the Cardinals have today resemble what the team had back in 2011 and 2013.

Beyond Pujols and Molina in 2011, the homegrown Skip Schumaker, Jon Jay, Allen Craig, Daniel Descalso, Jaime Garcia, Kyle McClellan, Jason Motte, Mitchell Boggs, Fernando Salas and Eduardo Sanchez filled roles.

That team deployed Matt Holliday and David Freese in their primes. Veterans Chris Carpenter, Kyle Lohse and Jake Westbrook anchored the rotation. Mozeliak swapped prized prospect Colby Rasmus to add pitchers Edwin Jackson, Octavio Dotel and Marc Rzepczynski.

That was a well-crafted roster, the result of heady asset management. Those were the days!

The 2013 pennant-winning team featured Wainwright as the staff ace and Edward Mujica closing. Holliday was still productive, as was Carlos Beltran.

Beyond Molina, there were also Craig, Jay, Descalso, Garcia, Salas, Boggs, Matt Carpenter, Pete Kozma, Matt Adams, Tony Cruz, Kolten Wong, Lance Lynn, Shelby Miller, Joe Kelly, Trevor Rosenthal, Seth Maness, Kevin Siegrist, Michael Wacha, Carlos Martinez and Tyler Lyons.

That team got huge years from Craig and Carpenter, sturdy starting pitching from Lynn and Miller, and endless bullpen help from that surplus of young hurlers.

After the organization rebounded from the “Hackgate� fallout, the 2022 Cardinals won the National League Central with a team reminiscent of 2011. Goldschmidt and Arenado played at MVP levels. Pujols starred down the stretch, and Wainwright and Mikolas steadied the rotation.

As he did in 2011, Mozeliak bolstered his pitching staff ahead of the trade deadline, spending the homegrown Bader, Edmundo Sosa and Johan Oviedo for starting pitchers Jordan Montgomery and Jose Quintana plus relievers JoJo Romero and Chris Stratton.

That team also featured graduated prospects Carlson, Tommy Edman, Lars Nootbaar, Brendan Donovan, Nolan Gorman, Paul DeJong, Andrew Knizner, Ryan Helsley, Andre Pallante, Jordan Hicks, Jake Woodford, Jack Flaherty and Zack Thompson.

There were a lot of similarities — except that the ’11 team won it all and the ’22 team lasted just two games in the playoffs.

Then Pujols retired; Molina struggled and retired; Wainwright struggled and retired; Goldschmidt, Arenado and Mikolas all regressed and lots of other stuff went wrong.

So here we are. The team moves forward with younger players Donovan, Nootbaar, Gorman, Pallante, Masyn Winn, Alec Burleson, Pedro Pages, Ivan Herrera, Jordan Walker, Victor Scott II, Michael Siani, Thomas Saggese, Kyle Leahy, Chris Roycroft, Michael McGreevy and (maybe) Helsley.

Pitching prospects Quinn Mathews, Tink Hence, Tekoah Roby and Sem Robberse offer promise, as do catchers Jimmy Crooks and Leonardo Bernal and infielder JJ Wetherholt. The looming organizational upgrades should bear additional fruit in a few years.

But the Cardinals won’t regain their standing until they spend smarter and trade better. Of all the changes to come, those must be the biggest.

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Chaim Bloom will get his second chance as the lone figure atop a team’s baseball operations pyramid when he replaces the Cardinals’ John Mozeliak at the end of next season. Cardinals Chairman and CEO Bill DeWitt Jr. dubbed Bloom Mozeliak’s heir Monday.

Bloom, the former chief baseball officer of the Boston Red Sox, joined the Cardinals as an adviser to the baseball operations department in January. His primary charge had been to assess the club’s player development system.

Bloom now sits on deck as the Cardinals’ next president of baseball operations, and he’ll have a year to begin shaping the way the organization molds prospects.

In some ways, it’s a role tailor-made for Bloom. In some ways, it’s a similar role to the one he played that made him a rising star in the industry with the Rays. In some ways, it’s a distinctly different perch than he’d been afforded in Boston.

“This is a chance to really get in deep in this area in a way that I just think is unique,� Bloom said of beginning his tenure by overseeing the overhaul of the club’s player development department.

A rebuild in Boston

Bloom, 41, spent four years as the top executive in the Red Sox baseball operations department prior to his dismissal on Sept. 14, 2023. The Red Sox fired him after a second consecutive last-place finish in the American League East.

Bloom’s tenure in Boston included three last-place finishes but also featured one playoff appearance that extended to the 2021 American League Championship Series.

The Red Sox went 272-274 during Bloom’s four seasons. His first season came during the pandemic-shortened season and after MLB suspended Red Sox manager Alex Cora for a year for his involvement in the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal in 2017.

The Red Sox also reduced their payroll from an approximate $236 million in 2019 to approximately $181 million in 2023.

Bloom oversaw a rebuild in Boston that included the departures of homegrown stars Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Andrew Benintendi and Jackie Bradley Jr. to a 10-year contract extension in 2023.

Baseball America ranked the Red Sox farm system 22nd of 30 MLB organizations entering 2020. That ranking rose to 10th entering 2023.

Bloom also headed the Red Sox baseball operations department when the team drafted current No. 1 overall prospect in baseball, minor league outfielder Roman Anthony.

Player development pedigree

A native of Philadelphia, Bloom graduated from Yale University in 2004. While a student at Yale, Bloom interned and wrote articles for the baseball statistics and analysis website Baseball Prospectus.

Bloom began his front office career as an intern with the San Diego Padres and then in the Major League Baseball legal/corporate partnerships department.

Bloom got his foot in the door with the Tampa Bay Rays, again as an intern, in 2005. He climbed the rungs from assistant director of minor league operations in 2008 to director of baseball operations in 2011.

In 2014, Bloom became vice president of baseball operations. His responsibilities expanded to include personnel, player development, international scouting, contract negotiations, salary arbitration and strategic planning.

Following the 2016 season, Bloom became senior vice president of baseball operations. He and senior vice president of baseball operations/general manager Erik Neander together headed the baseball operations department until Bloom went to Boston following the 2019 season.

In 2018, for their general manager position.

Some of the top prospects in the Rays farm system between 2009 and 2016 included pitcher David Price, outfielder Desmond Jennings, pitcher Jeremy Hellickson, pitcher Matt Moore, outfielder Wil Myers, pitcher Jake Odorizzi, shortstop Willy Adames and .

Moore, Myers, Odorizzi, Price and Snell went on to earn All-Star selections in the majors. Myers and Hellickson each won AL Rookie of the Year honors.

Snell has won two Cy Young Awards and two ERA titles, while Price also won a Cy Young Award and a pair of ERA titles.

A head start in 50¶È»ÒÊÓƵ

DeWitt said Bloom signed a five-year contract to serve as president of baseball operations that starts after the 2025 season.

Bloom remains an adviser for the time being and will oversee the “reset� of the player development system. Since coming aboard as an adviser, Bloom developed a plan for improving the Cardinals farm system.

Now, he’ll be on the ground floor of implementing that plan before he takes over the entire baseball operation.

DeWitt promised “significant new investments� in staffing, programs and infrastructure, including a new facility at the club’s spring training complex in Jupiter, Florida. The team is scheduled to break ground on that new facility in April, according to DeWitt.

“Things move and change,� DeWitt said. “As Chaim says, if you don’t keep up, you’re going to fall behind. So this is a matter of catching up to a degree and building to a degree.�

Bloom said the process of hiring new leadership for the player development system has already begun. The Cardinals are looking to add an assistant general manager to head up player development and to have input in the additions in that apartment.

With general manager Michael Girsch shifted to vice president of special projects, Mozeliak will absorb Girsch’s previous duties next season.

Presumably, Bloom would either assume those duties or make a hire for the general manager position when Mozeliak steps down after next season.

More than 10 top executives in the Red Sox baseball operations — from the general manager and assistant general manager levels to the analytics, minor league operations and scouting departments — were holdovers from the regime prior to Bloom.

In Boston, not only did several of the senior executives in baseball operations predate Bloom’s hiring, but many also predated Bloom’s predecessor Dave Dombrowski. That front office was arguably more entrenched than the one Bloom will join with the Cardinals.

It appears Bloom may have more of an immediate hand in shaping the top levels of the front office and player development department with the Cardinals than he did in Boston.

Expectations on player development

During Bloom’s tenure in Boston, he increased the baseball operations staff. The research and development department (analytics staff) grew from 14 entering 2019 to 33 entering 2023.

The Red Sox also added personnel in sports science, mental skills and sports medicine/sports performance. The coaching staffs of the minor league affiliates also increased size under Bloom’s leadership.

The Cardinals already have vowed to add staff in player development.

“It’s actually remarkable, even over the course of my career, just how much faster this arms race has gotten behind the scenes,� Bloom said. “That doesn’t mean every single new thing that comes into the game is something that you want to go all in on but certainly a lot of things have been.

“It really just comes out of 30 clubs competing to see how well they can develop players, how much better they can make these guys. Whether it’s teaching methods. Whether it’s combining performance and medical and on-field coaching to achieve better outcomes, to individualize training more. Whether it’s data. Whether it’s equipment. All these things are brought to bear in different ways.�

While he didn’t use the phrasing, Bloom seemed to describe a reimagining of the so-called Cardinal Way.

“That’s part of the tradition of this organization, innovation,â€� Bloom said. “A lot of these things that are a tradition now, they were new and different at one point when the 50¶È»ÒÊÓƵ Cardinals starting doing it.â€�

As the Cardinals prepare to enter a new era with their player development system, Mozeliak praised retiring assistant general manager/director of player development Gary LaRocque.

“He really ran an excellent farm system, and he did it with the resources he had,� Mozeliak said. “When you look at the players that we’ve been bringing up, I disagree with the statement that someone says they’re not prepared. They might not perform right away because there is a learning curve and not every player comes to the big leagues and succeeds right away. It’s a hard game. It’s a tough league.�

Mozeliak asserted that the upcoming investments in player development aren’t a reflection that things were done wrong in the past. Instead, he pointed to those investments as a sign of a changing market where players now prepare differently.

The Cardinals will aim to be on “that innovative side of maximizing player performance,� Mozeliak said.

50¶È»ÒÊÓƵ Cardinals

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Before the Cardinals “turn the keys� of baseball operations over to a new leader they’ve already signed to a five-year contract, the organization is detouring down an unfamiliar avenue for this ownership group, one that means a reduced payroll, increased youth and selling fans on a new brand after a generation of measuring success in Octobers rather than the futures market.

“The message is: We’re going young,� chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. said after a news conference Monday to announce changes in direction. “That’s the message.�

A day after a second consecutive season ended without a playoff berth, the Cardinals detailed what DeWitt introduced as a “major announcement� for the direction of the club. In John Mozeliak’s final year as president of baseball operations, the Cardinals will focus inward with investments in their player development infrastructure that could limit spending on the big league club to contend in 2025.

Former Boston and Tampa Bay executive Chaim Bloom will oversee this overhaul of the minor league programs and then, next fall, take over as president of baseball operations when Mozeliak’s contract expires.

Bloom’s five-year deal in that role begins next offseason through 2030.

DeWitt said the Cardinals are “entering a period of transition.�

Just as noteworthy was what the Cardinals did not say Monday.

They avoided that charged word that starts with “R� and signals a certain slip in the standings.

They repeatedly used the little cousin of “rebuild.�

“Yes, this is a reset,� Mozeliak said after the televised news conference. “Yes, this is going to be where we’re not focusing on necessarily building the best possible roster we can. We’re also excited about the roster. We do have a bunch of young players. We also have some emerging stars at the minor league level. How we could augment that over the next few months, time will tell.�

Mozeliak, in his third decade with the Cardinals, could actually see some of his day-to-day responsibilities increase in 2025. Michael Girsch, the team’s general manager since 2017, will remain a vice president but in charge of “special projects.� Mozeliak said he’ll take on more of the GM duties while that position remains open for Bloom to eventually hire. Mozeliak said he did not want to create any “roadblocks� during a yearlong transition of power.

Mozeliak said Bloom will have input on major-league decisions that involve the future of the organization and the roster he'll inherit.

After Monday’s news conference, the Cardinals confirmed the Post-Dispatch’s report that Oliver Marmol would return as manager for a fourth season. In the coming days, he and Mozeliak will discuss the major league staff. Some changes are expected, especially as a few contracts expire.

The Cardinals finished the season 83-71, 12 wins better than 2023 but out of the playoffs and thus just as close to winning a National League pennant. That could explain why the response was more dramatic this year than last, especially after spending more than $200 million on major league payroll for the first time in club history. The spending tradeoffs the Cardinals made that did not result in big-league success had cost them in player development — a slow erosion over the past decade that has become a glaring gulch between them and advanced clubs.

“I’d like to set us on a course to get back to consistent winning,� said Mozeliak, whose rosters have won one playoff series since 2014. “Focus on the buildup of our baseball operations, invest in new infrastructure and technologies. See the groundbreaking (of improved facilities) in Jupiter, Florida. You may ask yourself two simple questions: What is this? And what is it not? What it is a multi-year strategy, a focus on player procurement and development. It’s a long-term investment in the organization’s future.

“What is it not?� Mozeliak continued. “It’s not a Band-Aid solution. And this is not an excuse. Focus on the word ‘change.’ Change. We need to make change to realize our ultimate goal.�

What that means for players who came to the Cardinals believing contending for a championship was their current goal is to be determined in the coming weeks.

Two former All-Stars, Nolan Arenado and Sonny Gray, have no-trade clauses, but they also sought a move to the Cardinals because of their promise to be perennial contenders. Gray’s salary rockets to $30 million in 2025. Arenado escaped Colorado and agreed to a complex trade to the Cardinals when the Rockies' spending shriveled and a playoff-worthy roster came apart. Mozeliak said conversations with them are ahead and decisions must be “a two-way street.�

The Post-Dispatch asked DeWitt what the shift says to those franchise players.

“Obviously, they’re veterans and they will be great assets for us on the team,� he said.

The Cardinals can shed a chunk of salary swiftly in the coming weeks. They have $12 million options on pitchers Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn and a $6 million option on Keynan Middleton. It will cost $3 million to buy those out.

Andrew Kittredge and Paul Goldschmidt are free agents, and if the Cardinals want to hasten their “reset,� they could field prospect-rich offers on closer Ryan Helsley before his arbitration jackpot.

The Cardinals do not expect to chase free agents this winter who will cost them a draft pick, preferring instead to accumulate picks and young talent. As they did for Masyn Winn at shortstop, they want to clear routes for prospects Michael McGreevy, Thomas Saggese and Quinn Mathews to contribute in 2025. That too would create a cheaper, cost-controlled roster.

As part of the news conference, club President Bill DeWitt III outlined the uncertainties the club is facing for revenue. Top among them is the cratering cable model, which remains in bankruptcy court. The Cardinals do not yet know if they’ll receive their full rights fee from their broadcast partner’s parent company, Diamond Sports, for 2025. Club president DeWitt said the team hopes a direct-to-consumer model where fans can buy a subscription to games and stream them through an app is on the horizon.

Another factor was the message sent by fans this past season with fewer than 3 million tickets sold for the first time in Busch Stadium III history. Historically, Cardinals have tied their payroll spending to ticket revenue, and fan support has allowed them to punch above their market size.

And then there is the planned diversion of spending from the major league product to the minor league system. Bloom said ownership “gave the green light to make real investments,� some of which has already started.

Mozeliak estimated an 8%-12% increase in spending on player development to expand the staff and outfit the organization with modern technology.

“There are some fundamental things we want to do differently in the organization, and then as we have continued success at the minor league level, at the player-procurement level, then we can time it right and try to reinvest at the major-league level,� Mozeliak said. “You can’t put a dollar amount on it yet because I don’t know exactly what our revenues are going to look like. Ownership is committed to letting us take the first step to make that investment in the player development.�

The regression in player development was not overnight.

Mozeliak expressed concerns in 2017 and then encountered a variety of obstacles, from construction delays to coaches who ignored purchased tech, through the years. Staff cutbacks that left vital positions vacant put the Cardinals further behind their rivals. Before this past year, they were slow to respond to rapid advancements in pitching development.

“In the past few years — not a ton of years — teams have beefed-up and gotten more analytical,� chairman DeWitt said. “I think we were at the forefront a number of years ago and stayed there, went along, and kept improving. The industry saw the value of going all-in on player procurement and player development and we were doing fine. We were winning and having a good team. We didn’t quite catch up.�

Enter Bloom.

Hired a year ago as an adviser, Bloom spent the past season observing and auditing the Cardinals, mostly at the player-development level. He visited every affiliate and spent some time at the Cardinals’ academy in the Dominican Republic. At the end of his survey, he had suggested changes — and ownership empowered him to make them. He will also play a leading role in ownership’s hiring of a new assistant general manager-level farm director and other leadership positions for farm system.

Bloom joined Mozeliak and the DeWitts on the podium for the presser and delivered his first public comments on the Cardinals since joining the Cardinals.

“Our staff has the hunger to learn, to grow, to get better, to change,� Bloom said of meeting Cardinals minor-league coaches and officials. “That’s a good thing because that’s what we need. That’s what this game demands. The competition is this area of our industry has been absolutely relentless over the past decade. It takes boldness and humility to get on top and stay there. If you stand still and rest on your laurels even for a moment, you get beat.�

That could be why the Cardinals avoided using “rebuild.�

Bloom is not tasked with a rebuild.

His job is to build a renewed, better and modern foundation for player development upon which will grow the Cardinals’ major league team he will run.

“Find out how we get back out in front (because) that is part of the tradition of this organization — is innovation,� Bloom said. “Catching up is important. We want to be able to set the tone. We’re not just going to be looking at copying everybody else. We want to find our own way.�

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Fans of the Cardinals have heard it countless times from longtime president of baseball operations John Mozeliak, most often when a player has been let go, traded away or sent back down to the minors following an all-too-often major league stall.

At the end of the day, Mozeliak reminds, it’s about performance.

Easy for him to say.

“Perhaps to your chagrin,� Mozeliak said Monday, “you’re stuck with me for another year.�

On Monday, the strength of Mozeliak’s grip on his role as king of Cardinals baseball operations was on full display again as the organization announced what it’s referring to as a philosophy shift that aims to lead the Cardinals back to — well, what the Cardinals used to do best, which was draft and develop players who became internally produced answers for annually competitive and often contending teams.

And who will be leading the start of that overhaul?

Mozeliak, of course, the same entrenched leader most directly responsible for his historically successful organization’s continued backslide. Yes, in the final season of his current contract, Mozeliak will be trusted by Chairman Bill DeWitt Jr., and his ownership group to start the repairs Mozeliak not only allowed but punished some for speaking out about.

When former Cardinals manager Mike Shildt got mad about the Cardinals losing their way, for example, he was fired by Mozeliak in brutal fashion. Now he’s in the postseason with San Diego, and the Cardinals, instead of pointing to “philosophical differences� with Shildt, are saying their philosophy needs calibration. Go figure.

Saying what the Cardinals are saying about change while letting Mozeliak stay in the point position for his sendoff season is the equivalent of hiring a lawn service that kills your grass, then asking the same company to come back and install your irrigation system. It’s like asking the surgeon who left his scalpel in you during an operation to schedule another surgery to remove it.

And while it’s hard to understand, it’s still totally unsurprising for this team.

Also unsurprising: Cardinals fans questioning this logic are expected to believe Mozeliak is doing this as some sort of a selfless act, something that sets up pending replacement Chaim Bloom for success when he takes over on a new five-year contract as president of baseball operations starting in 2026.

“I could have been fired today, right?� Mozeliak said during Monday’s Bally Sports Midwest interview. “Ultimately, they would have come in and someone would have to reassess where we are. We would just be wasting time.�

Bloom has a big year ahead of him, no doubt. He’s been tasked with overhauling the Cardinals’ derailed development system. He will have some say in major league roster decisions, too, DeWitt Jr. confirmed Monday, but what happened after Monday’s news conference ended sure said a lot more.

Mozeliak remained on the stage to detail plans for the Cardinals’ scaling back of payroll and contention for the sake of player development in 2025.

Bloom? He was hustled from the room.

Earlier, when a question about payroll came up, DeWitt Jr. passed on it. Mozeliak stepped in, saying fans should expect the amount of the budget dedicated to major league salaries to decline.

Make no mistake about it, folks. This is still very much the “Mo Show.� One final tour.

I’m not sure how some convinced themselves Mozeliak was going to be fired with one year left on his deal. Under DeWitt Jr., Mozeliak has the safest job in 50¶È»ÒÊÓƵ. It’s somehow as strong as it ever was, even after more postseason misses than makes since 2016.

And the Cardinals are not just receding at the top of their organizational structure. There’s rust and rot at the bottom. Hence the need for revamping player development after Bloom spent the past season assessing it with a view from the outside.

The shift led to a retirement for longtime player development executive Gary LaRocque with one season left on his contract. Some convinced themselves Mozeliak would face the same fate.

No chance.

It was reasonable to wonder if the Cardinals would read the room — and swaths of empty seats at Busch Stadium lately — and have Mozeliak step back from the spotlight a bit during his final year. It would have been good for the sake of optics, if nothing else.

No chance.

DeWitt continuing to seem truly baffled by those who question Mozeliak comes with a cost. Fans know the need for change described Monday and Mozeliak’s 2025 retirement tour don’t really mesh. Not when the Cardinals have dropped out of baseball’s most relevant bunch. Not when they are struggling at the top and bottom of their system. Not when players and coaches who leave the organization, some by their own choice but plenty by Mozeliak’s, have developed a proven record of thriving elsewhere.

The Athletic recently published a collection of glaring quotes from anonymous Cardinals employees who sounded concerned and distraught about the organization’s direction.

“I don’t know how this was (expletive) up so bad over the last few years,� one read.

“We are no longer developing winning players,� read another.

“Our system is broken in a way,� read another. “How it got here, I don’t know.�

The Cardinals are stuck between failing and accepting failure, and it continues to show. They’re calling a rebuild a reset. They’re promoting their youth but being shy about admitting it’s time to sell off the high-priced veterans to expedite how quickly they can regain relevance.

Rolling out what they want to be viewed positively as a big shift while still prioritizing Mozeliak as the lead voice is not going to sit well with many who will be asked to support the baseball product with their paychecks in 2025.

And please, don’t be fooled about Bloom, who in a short amount of time, right or wrong, seemed to zoom by scouting director Randy Flores in becoming Mozeliak’s replacement. This man doesn’t need a transition or more seasoning. He ran Tampa Bay and the Red Sox.

In fact, if the Cardinals are indeed going to flip the roster’s expensive vets, he’s the among best equipped to do it because he’s done it before.

Bloom’s more than familiar with baseball’s big chair. Mozeliak’s just not ready to make his available. Not yet.

“This partnership and this relationship over the next 12 months, it might make a few of you unhappy, but I am certainly willing to do the walk because I feel like we are going to position ourselves really well and ultimately, if you think about your own legacy and how you want to leave something, I certainly am hopeful it will be left in a really solid place when I do step down,� Mozeliak said.

Monday reminded me of another one of Mozeliak’s favorite sayings, one usually offered when he decides it’s time for a roster change. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results.

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On Aug. 13, 2025, in likely a day game, the perpetually wretched Rockies will play the Cardinals that Wednesday at Busch Stadium.

Will anyone go?

In 2024, Cardinals attendance dropped drastically, stunningly and tellingly in August and September. The fans were fed up.

In 2025, the fans will suffer even more because of a mess the organization made.

On Monday, the Cardinals announced that payroll will likely go down in 2025. The team is undergoing a “reset,� per John Mozeliak, who’s back as president of baseball operations for one final year (even though he oversaw the making of the mess that the franchise is now trying to clean up). The Cardinals will invest heavily in revamping their minor league system. That means the major league payroll will take a financial hit, which implies trades of proven, standout players.

In other words, the young guys are going to play in 2025.

We might’ve seen the last of Nolan Arenado, Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras in a Cardinals uniform.

Oh, and as seen on social media and in comment sections on articles, the fans are furious that Mozeliak is back (Chaim Bloom, the former Red Sox and Rays executive working with 50¶È»ÒÊÓƵ, will take over after the 2025 season).

So not only will the 2025 team, likely, be worse — but the fans are also already irate, six months before the home opener. Heck, January’s Winter Warm-up might be chillier inside than outside.

Now, a reset makes sense in many regards (again, though, they put themselves in this position to begin with). The Cards have missed the playoffs in five of past eight full seasons, including the past two years. The minor league organization needs a major investment in resources (notably, coaches and technology) to make up for lost ground. But things like these aren’t quick fixes.The 2025 major league team will suffer.

And sure, some Cards fans understand this has to happen. Many of those fans understand that, say, the 2027 Cardinals could be significantly better because of it. But man, if the losing starts early in 2025, one has to think the stadium will be emptier than ever before in May, June and July.

So just what are the Cardinals selling their fans?

“This is going to be where we’re not focusing on necessarily, like, building the best possible roster we can — but we’re also excited about the roster,� Mozeliak said Monday following the team’s news conference at Busch. “We do have a bunch of young players. We also have some emerging stars at the minor league level. And then it’s how we potentially could augment that over the course of the next few months. Time will tell.�

No question, there are some talented youngsters. Masyn Winn very well could earn a Gold Glove Award for his 2024 rookie campaign. Andre Pallante had a 3.56 ERA in his 20 starts. And Jordan Walker still has the promise to become, well, the Jordan Walker we thought he’d be.

“We’ve got a really nice core of young players,� team President Bill DeWitt III said, “so I don’t think we’re going to be short of marketing messages to our fans in terms of what to look for and what to be excited about.�

OK, sure. But let’s be real. Nothing about the 83-win Cards trading away top veterans makes me think the 2025 Cards will be better. The Cardinals will take a step back in 2025, even if the likes of Walker, Winn, Nolan Gorman and Alec Burleson all become standout hitters. And who the heck is going to start these games on the mound? Probably a lot of Michael McGreevey and Gordon Graceffo.

The 50¶È»ÒÊÓƵ Cardinals, this great franchise and heirloom passed down in families across this city, are on hiatus. Who knows exactly who we’ll watch and what we’ll watch next season (if 50¶È»ÒÊÓƵ even watches at all), but it won’t have the luster and allure of a jewel of the National League.

Then again, and I’ve written this often in the past years (even after 2022), the Cards have already lost a lot of luster. The whole goal is to build a team that annually contends for a pennant — well, they haven’t won one since 2013. And since the start of 2015, the Cardinals have won one playoff round. So yeah, the “reset� could help the franchise get back on track.

But at what cost?

The Cardinals are losing fans in real time.

And fans who are sticking with the Cardinals are losing faith.

And the Cardinals are losing fans they would’ve made — especially young kids — if the team had actually been good the past two years.

And the losing in 2025 might take its toll on everyone.

There is little, at this point, for the Cardinals to sell to their fans for next season.

Perhaps the best selling point would be that Bloom is here to revive the franchise. But even he won’t be the main boss until after this season.

We will inevitably see some of the emptiest Cards games in decades. Who can blame the fans? The price of attending the games is high.

And the organization is paying the price with this reset.

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After overseeing a "reset" of the Cardinals' player development pipeline through 2025, Chaim Bloom will take over as president of baseball operations ahead of the 2026 season.

Bloom signed a five-year contract with the Cardinals as he transitions from an advisor role to eventually take over for John Mozeliak, chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. announced in a press conference Monday at Busch Stadium.

Entering his third decade with the organization, Mozeliak will lead baseball operations through the 2025 season, and he will take on some additional responsibilities previously handled by the general manager. The coming season is the final year of his contract, and there is now a plan in place for who replaces him and how Bloom will be involved in guiding the Cardinals through the months until he takes over the lead. 

His first focus will be acting upon suggestions and ideas he has had after a year spent auditing a minor-league and development system that has slipped behind while rivals have become cutting edge.

"To catalyze that change, ownership has given us the green light to make investments (throughout the minor league system)," Bloom said. "There is a lot of work ahead of us. These days, the bar for excellence in this area keeps getting higher. The 50¶È»ÒÊÓƵ Cardinals are the one that set the bar for everyone else, and we can again."

MLB payroll to drop 

The planned investment in player development will have a trickle-up impact on the major-league roster. Mozeliak said the big-league payroll is likely to go down for 2025 after surpassing $200 million this season for the first time in club history.

The exact payroll number has not yet been set but in past years it has been tied to ticket revenue, and that too softened this year.

Ownership has increased the budget for operations costs to make investment in the minor-league system possible, and some of that will shift the payroll budget, Mozeliak said. The Cardinals have an instant hunk of salary they can clear if they wish by not bringing back Kyle Gibson ($12 million option for 2025), Lance Lynn ($12 million option for 2025), Keynan Middleton ($6 million option for 2025), and free agents Paul Goldschmidt and Andrew Kittredge. 

The three options will cost a total of $3 million in buyouts.

GM Girsch reassigned to new role

The Cardinals also announced that general manager Michael Girsch will move into a "special projects" role at the senior vice president level.

The specific projects are not yet identified. Girsch has overseen the team's growing analytics department. The Cardinals also have a multi-million renovation on their player development and spring training complex in Jupiter, Florida, set to start with groundbreaking in April. That is more than two years later than initially planned.

'Not a Band-Aid solution'

The construction delays in Jupiter were just a few of the hiccups that have stalled or cost the Cardinals' player development in recent years.

Mozeliak, in his opening comments, acknowledged how the farm system has slipped and how significant strides need to be made to keep up with their peers in the industry.

"It is not a Band-Aid solution, and it is not an excuse," "We need to make changes to reach our stated goal. We are committed to seeing this through."

He added: "When you think about your legacy, I do hope (the organization) is a better place when I step down next year."

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Cardinals call this a 'reset'

Bloom's current title as advisor to the president of baseball operations remains the same for now. Cardinals chairman and CEO Bill DeWitt Jr. said Bloom's five-year contract begins after this coming season, and it does not include his time as an advisor.

Mozeliak said he'll assume the general manager duties vacated by Girsch's move to a "special projects role."

Mozeliak pushed back against the suggestion that the Cardinals are entering a rebuild.

"I don't see this as just a pure rebuild," Mozeliak said. "I see it as a reset. There are some fundamental things we want to do differently in the organization. Then, ultimately, as we continue to have success at the minor league level, at the player procurement level, then we can time it right to then try and reinvest at the major-league level."

Mozeliak said he did not have a set number of additions slated on the player development staff. The first priority will be to add to the leadership positions in player development and then have those individuals play a part in what the player development staff will look like.

Despite the announced emphasis on bringing the player development system up to speed, DeWitt Jr. quibbled with the characterization of the Cardinals player development system having been a concern for years.

"I'm not sure that I would agree with the assessment there's been a concern for years," DeWitt Jr. said. "We've done pretty well in drafting and developing players, historically. I think the bar has risen, as Chaim would say. There's much more analytics now attached to it."

--ÌýLynn Worthy

***

Follow updates from the 50¶È»ÒÊÓƵ Cardinals press conference about the "shift in direction" that will restructure the team's operations. The press conference begins at 2 p.m.

50¶È»ÒÊÓƵ Cardinals beat reporter Derrick Goold previously wrote that the President of baseball operations John Mozeliak and manager Oliver Marmol will return for 2025 in their roles.

Adjustments are planned within the front office and organization to include investment in player development and technology, expanding staff and increased influence for executive Chaim Bloom among other moves. As Mozeliak said in a phone interview Sunday with the Post-Dispatch: “Changes are coming.�

“We’re shifting to a heavy emphasis that puts it back on scouting and player development,� Mozeliak said. “I would say that over the past 10 years or so we’ve run a lean operation, and part of that was to allow us to maximize success at the major league level. But over time, you learn that machine can wear down. It’s just not producing at the level it once did. That’s not to say our minor leagues are in disarray. But an emphasis on infrastructure is something we have been taking a very serious look at.

“It’s obviously going to be a shift in philosophy,� he added. “Instead of looking for short-term answers, we’re going to try to take more of a long view.�

Refresh this page to get updates to the article; the tweets below will update automatically.

John Mozeliak, Oliver Marmol to remain in roles as ‘changes are coming’ to Cardinals

“It’s obviously going to be a shift in philosophy ... a heavy emphasis that puts it back on scouting and player development,� Mozeliak told the Post-Dispatch.

This is the point we’ve reached. The 50¶È»ÒÊÓƵ Cardinals have deteriorated in so many regards, the best plan of action is to potentially trade big-money players for 2025.

Watch now: What the Cardinals' front office had to say about changes

See video excerpts from the press conference announcing Chaim Bloom as the new Cardinals president after the 2025 season.

“Yes, I would anticipate seeing payroll go down because of these investments (in minor league development growth),� said John Mozeliak, the Cardinals president of baseball operations.

Right away, for some fans, Mozeliak’s title might catch them off-guard. He’s still the president of baseball operations? Yep. Even though he oversaw the slipping (after, to his credit, some great years in the early 2010s), Mozeliak is back for 2025. At a press conference Monday at Busch Stadium, it was announced that “Mo� will remain the baseball boss for this season (his last) and Chaim Bloom will take over after 2025. Yet, the Cardinals plan on making seismic shifts to their thinking and strategy … and the guy put them in this mess, so it seems, gets to guide them out of it.

But, yes, the Cardinals payroll is expected to go down. This is a huge development, something we haven’t seen under this current ownership.

“Putting a lot of resources towards player development is a key part of us being competitive year-in, year-out as the years go on,� said Cards chairman Bill DeWitt Jr., who took over after the 1995 season. “It's an allocation of resources to a degree and we'll determine the financial ramification of it and go from there.�

Mozeliak wouldn’t get into specifics on trades just yet. But if payroll is going to go down — and younger players are going to get more at-bats and innings — then this implies some pretty big trades. Starting pitcher Sonny Gray will earn $25 million next year, per . Third baseman Nolan Arenado will earn $21 million. Catcher Willson Contreras will earn $18 million. Starter Miles Mikolas will earn $17.6 million.

“I'm not anticipating any big contracts going yet — we need to get a little guidance on what our revenues are going to look like,� Mozeliak said. “Ultimately, when you think about the trading market in general, that starts as we enter post-World Series. Ultimately, there are some players that I still think have some value here, from a leadership standpoint and also from a competitive standpoint. And so that is something that we'll focus on.�

I cannot overstate how big of a deal this is in Cardinals history — the proud franchise likely trading valuable players, which would in essence make the Cardinals a worse team.

Mozeliak kept calling it a “reset.�

But it’s simple as this — if you thought 2024 was bad, imagine 2025 without, say, Gray and Contreras?

It’s a long-term plan, of course.

Invest in the minors and new coaches and technology. That will likely produce better young (and cost-controlled) major-league players. And at that point, the Cards could then pounce on free agents to bolster the club. But when is the “then�? Well, it’s not 2025.

“Catching up is (to the top teams in player development) is important,� Bloom said, “but we want to be able to set the tone, so we're not just going to be looking at copying everybody else. We want to find our own (way).�

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