The St. Louis Cardinals are on the fringes of postseason contention just a week ahead of the midsummer classic, which a classic turning point for any team's season. Whether the Cards should buy or sell doesn't come with an easy answer, at least not yet. St. Louis is 1.5 games behind the San Francisco Giants for the third and final Wild Card spot as of this writing. They also have several veterans they'd be fine parting ways with should the team struggle over the next few weeks. If they continue to defy the odds, well, the front office will have some tough questions to answer.
Cardinals veterans like Nolan Arenado, Miles Mikolas, Ryan Helsley and Sonny Gray could all be had for the right asking price. St. Louis wants to retool under new leadership, which would make far more sense if the team were struggling at the moment. They are not, and thus it's a tougher sell for soon-to-be new president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom. Bloom is a rebuild artist, and is known for making the most out of less financial assets. That's not a good sign for Cardinals fans, especially with John Mozeliak and the current regime getting rid of any expensive veterans they have left.
Cardinals lack direction thanks to Bill DeWitt
What should be an exciting time for Cardinals fans could turn frustrating, especially if chairman Bill DeWitt hasn't changed his opinion from back in January, when he drew the ire of much of the fanbase.
“We do what we think is best for the team, current and future,” DeWitt Jr. said at the Cardinals’ Winter Warm-Up weekend. “Obviously fans have their own opinion. We’ve got wonderful fans, and they’re knowledgeable. I think a great majority of them understand what we’re doing and approve of it. Others don’t. They think maybe we should go spend money and see if we can’t get it back that way. But it’s hard to do. You have big markets that are going to do what they do and we’re not in a position to compete at that level of payroll."
It's time for the Cardinals to either rebuild or go all-in
DeWitt followed up that motivational sentiment with this nonsense, which does little to answer the question as to the Cardinals direction.
“There’s a time to (increase payroll) and a time to build. We’re trying to balance that so that we have the opportunity to have competitive teams every year," DeWitt continued.
Six months later, and Cardinals fans still don't have an answer. There is little room to both rebuild and play to win in professional baseball. If St. Louis isn't getting the most for its veteran players to rebuild, then they are leaving future stars on the table in favor of baseless nostalgia. If they don't fully commit to a rebuild, then odds are the farm system isn't getting enough resources to develop the next generation of Cardinals stars.
St. Louis is stuck in the middle. It may be enough to help them contend for a Wild Card spot and little else, all the while putting off the inevitable.