Against all odds, the St. Louis Cardinals are putting the pieces together — just when they weren't supposed to put the pieces together.
The narrative around this Cardinals team in the offseason centered on imminent change. This is John Mozeliak's last season as president of baseball ops, with Chaim Bloom in line to succeed him come 2026. Bloom is known for his ability to retool and rebuild a farm system, which has been an area of weakness in St. Louis for years.
The Cardinals were expected to finally rebuild in earnest — or at least pivot toward a younger roster, with an eye toward the future. Mozeliak didn't really deliver much change, however, clinging tight to his veteran stars on the trade front. As a result, this Cards roster is still eerily similar to what we saw a year ago. Only now St. Louis is winning ballgames.
At 29-23, the Cardinals are two games back of first-place Chicago in the NL Central. That is a positive development, as fans want to see winning baseball, but it does leave Mozeliak, Bloom and the Cardinals front office in a strange limbo.
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Cardinals' unexpected success could make rebuilding even harder next offseason
St. Louis has backed itself into a corner here. The Cardinals might be too good to sell at the trade deadline, which means veterans on short-term contracts, such as Erick Fedde and Miles Mikolas, will stick around. Ryan Helsley would've been a premium trade chip in the offseason. Now, the St. Louis closer has lost some luster and he's probably staying put.
Then we can look to the future, with extension talks coming down the pipeline for players like Lars Nootbaar and Brendan Donovan. Last winter, the Cards could've locked up both at reasonable numbers — perhaps even below market value. Now, the 27-year-old Nootbaar (.761 OPS, seven home runs) and the 28-year-old Donovan (.837 OPS, three home runs) are putting together career-best campaigns.
Neither hits free agency until 2027, but locking them up early for a bargain price is out the window. Now both have momentum to build on and reason to believe a hefty new contract awaits them a few years down the line. The Cardinals will regret not pushing contract talks sooner.
This is not meant to read as a "St. Louis is too good" complaint. Again, this is a fanbase used to winning, and the Cards' payroll has long been suggestive of a team meant to win games and compete for a postseason spot. This is what was supposed to happen last year. However, now that Mozeliak is ready to call it quits and St. Louis has publicly broadcast a desire to shift its focus to the future, it's a bit awkward to start playing like a contender.
Nolan Arenado has not made himself easier to trade this season. St. Louis' biggest stars, such as Arenado, Sonny Gray, or the aforementioned Helsley, are all struggling a bit. But the team is winning, their scant young talent is becoming more expensive by the week, and the farm system still pales in comparison to the majority of MLB teams.
If the Cardinals can't deliver on the promise of this season and make some noise in the playoffs, the organization is in for a painful reckoning next winter when Bloom takes over the front office. It's unclear how exactly he can go about changing things at this point.