Latest MLB power rankings show just how far John Mozeliak has allowed the Cardinals to fall

From 2019 through 2022, the St. Louis Cardinals made a string of playoff appearances, getting all the way to the NLCS in 2019. In 2023, the Redbirds made a shocking tumble from first place just the year before to last place laggards. This past season, the Cards recovered to an extent, tying the Cubs for second in the NL Central, but the team still finished six games out of the Wild Card chase.

It’s been a roller coaster ride of late for St. Louis, but this season is shaping up to be very different in the NL Central. The Cardinals’ stalwart first baseman, Paul Goldschmidt, is leaving for the Yankees. GM John Mozeliak has been actively shopping Nolan Arenado, but has yet to successfully trade him after Arenado invoked his no-trade clause to turn down a swap with the Astros. If Arenado stays, Erick Fedde is floated to be on the trading block. Meanwhile, the Cubs’ acquisition of Kyle tucker has put the division on notice.

With the Cardinals selling off and the Cubs gaining in strength, what does this mean for St. Louis? Three MLB insiders think they know what’s coming, and it's not pretty.

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Cardinals tabbed as last in the NL Central in ESPN’s latest power rankings

In their latest power rankings, MLB insiders Buster Olney, David Schoenfield and Jesse Rogers of ESPN currently rank the Cardinals as 24th in MLB, lowest in the NL Central. Wait, worse than the Reds and the Pirates? Olney wrote this about their offseason:

“The Cardinals' primary offseason drama has been around the question of whether they will find a trade for Nolan Arenado -- not only for the player, who has a full no-trade clause, but with a team interested in trading for an aging star whose numbers have been in decline but who has an expensive deal.” 

Indeed, Mozeliak is aggressively trying to cut payroll, which is why Fedde will be available if he can’t dump Arenado’s salary elsewhere. However, even with his decline, Arenado was one of St. Louis’ top producers last season. If they should part with Arenado, the Cardinals’ lineup will have almost no bite. So, are the analysts from ESPN right?

Given the new improvements to the Reds as well as the young stars in Paul Skenes and Jared Jones emerging with the Pirates, the Cardinals are, without a doubt, falling behind. As of now, it seems they are in rebuild mode. Chances are, ESPN is right, but we’ll see what happens.