Brace yourselves, St. Louis: All signs point to the Cardinals sitting out this Hot Stove season

The St. Louis Cardinals are finally ready to embrace the tank. Or, uh, the patient rebuild. However you want to frame it, the 2025 campaign is looking awfully grim for diehard Cards fans. Baseball is eternally unpredictable, but it's been a while since St. Louis strung together two mediocre seasons like this. Something has to change, and that could mean a more patient, less expensive approach to retooling a broken roster.

The winds of change have been howling in St. Louis for a while. John Mozeliak is entering his final campaign as team president. St. Louis has not stripped him of power yet, but Mozeliak is effectively a lame duck. They even have his replacement lined up, per ESPN's Jesse Rogers, with Chaim Bloom set to take over Mozeliak's job in 2026.

Bloom will oversee St. Louis' player development program in the meantime, repairing a farm system in desperate need of Bloom's special touch. Say what you will about Bloom's tumultuous tenure as Boston Red Sox GM, but his front office history is defined by excellent management of minor-league programs. Bloom knows how to build a pipeline of sustainable young talent, which is what the Cardinals have lacked lately.

That is the direction St. Louis is heading — pouring resources into the farm system and hard-resetting the MLB squad. As such, we can expect a quiet offseason.

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Don't expect much free agency activity from the St. Louis Cardinals this offseason

When breaking down what lies ahead for the Cardinals, MLB.com's John Denton did not mince words about what to expect this offseason.

"As it relates to free agency and the proverbial Hot Stove, it’s going to be a long, cold winter in St. Louis. Check back this time next year when the Cards might be ready to wade back into the free-agent pool."

Oof. Most of the time, these statements come with hedges or qualifiers. But not this one. The Cardinals are not going to operate with any aggression in free agency, from the looks of it. This is probably the right approach — to focus more on building from within and establishing a solid foundation — but that won't necessarily appease an anxious fanbase.

St. Louis has been one of the most consistently successful MLB teams over the last few decades. We hardly ever go more than a year without seeing the Cardinals in October. For St. Louis to essentially admit defeat on the current roster plan and commit to a third straight year of mediocrity — that is not the John Mozeliak playbook. That smells strongly of Chaim Bloom, and signals what is to come in St. Louis.

This is good, though. Mediocrity with a plan is better than accidental mediocrity.

What will be fascinating is how St. Louis approaches the trade front. Is Sonny Gray still on the Cardinals when next season rolls around? How committed is St. Louis to Nolan Arenado with Paul Goldschmidt halfway out the door? Mozeliak and Bloom are looking to the future, which means any expiring contract or past-prime vet is more or less up for grabs. So, it may be a long and cold winter in St. Louis, but that doesn't necessarily mean nothing will happen. It just won't make fans happy.