photo: Bill DeWitt III, Bill DeWitt Jr., John Mozeliak, Chaim Bloom (Bally Sports Midwest)
The St. Louis Cardinals held their (almost) annual season-ending press conference, announcing a shift in focus to player development as the franchise “resets”. Amid the uncertainty, our history feature highlights the overall positive results during the ownership period of the DeWitt group.
End of season press conference
On Monday, September 30, the St. Louis Cardinals organization held their annual end of season press conference. This conference was skipped in 2023 after the club completed its worst season in decades.
Seated at the table on Monday were Cardinals Chairman Bill DeWitt Jr., Cardinals President Bill DeWitt III, President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak and Senior Advisor Chaim Bloom.
The conference was called expressly to announce a change in the focus of the organization. This had been hinted at prior to the end of the season. Chairman DeWitt Jr. told the assembled media that the organization was going to conduct a “reset”.
This “reset” will involve putting more funds into reorganizing and upgrading the Cardinals player development system. Several days prior to the end of the season, on September 27, Katie Woo of the Athletic published an article outlining what she had been told by “anonymous sources”, was a serious degrading of the player development system that had slowly been allowed to occur over recent years.
The article mentioned regression in the teaching of the fundamentals in some cases, a shortage of coaches and instructors on every level of the system and the lack of currently available technology compared to other MLB organizations.
Chairman DeWitt told the media that to make these necessary changes, some cuts in the major league payroll would have to occur. DeWitt announced that Bloom, who was hired in January as an advisor to Mozeliak, will oversee the reorganization. DeWitt also announced that Bloom will be taking over as President of Baseball Operations after Mozeliak’s contract expires following the 2025 season. Bloom has signed a five-year contract that will take effect in 2026.
DeWitt III noted the team is working on a direct to consumer offering which may be especially needed since Bally Sports Midwest will be looking to renegotiate their broadcast rights deal with the team. This plays into the revenue uncertainty for 2025 and beyond.
Both Mozeliak and manager Oliver Marmol will retain their positions for 2025 but some coaching changes may occur. Several days after the conference ended, it was disclosed that hitting coach Turner Ward will not return in 2025.
In a side discussion with the media after the formal presser ended, Mozeliak told the reporters that the extent of the major league payroll cuts would depend on projected revenue, which he had not yet received.
He did acknowledge the possibility that cuts could come at the expense of one or more of the team’s higher salaried players, which include Sonny Gray, Nolan Arenado and Willson Contreras. Mozeliak stated that given that all three players have full no-trade contract protection, he would need to have conversations with these players before any decisions were made.
The potential trade of any these players will make a difference in the major league team to the extent that the Cardinals may not contend for the Division or the postseason for one or more seasons to come. The team has already let it be known that first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, who becomes a free agent after the postseason concludes, will not be brought back. Under the present circumstances the likelihood that all three of Gray, Arenado and Contreras will remain with the team appears remote.
Mozeliak also said that the player development budget may increase in the 8-12% range for 2025, but that is not final.
The offseason will reveal what the future holds for the 2025 St. Louis Cardinals.
End of season Big Picture
The Cardinals completed the 2024 season with a record of 83-79, tied for second place in the NL Central with the Chicago Cubs. The Cardinals prevailed over the Cubs in head-to-head games, 7-6, with the tiebreaker giving second place to the Cardinals.
Though the season ended in a winning record, the overall performance of the team was severely lacking, especially the offense. This is not breaking news to Cardinals fans.
Across the 30 MLB teams, here are the rankings of the Cardinals in key offensive categories.
- AVG: 11th
- OBP: 14th
- SLG: 19th
- OPS: 16th
- RISP: 27th
- Run Differential: 20th
The final two are the most glaring. That the team underwhelmed and underperformed is unmistakable. That they did this when two of the players in the everyday lineup were the NL MVP and the third-place finisher just two seasons ago, is galling.
The pitching was adequate, which is to say if the offense had been better this team may be in the playoffs right now instead of sitting at home watching it.
The Cardinals ranked 17th in pitching ERA. If you break it down by starters and relievers, the bullpen was significantly better. Cardinals relievers ranked seventh overall by ERA while the starters ranked 20th.
In pitcher WAR, the Cardinals ranked 12th. Position player WAR by contrast ranked 21st (note: this number includes defense).
Speaking of defense, the Cardinals ranked eighth in Outs Above Average and 12th in UZR (Ultimate Zone Rating). They also ranked sixth-best in Errors Per Game (ranking is least to most), so defense was not their problem.
In conclusion, the 2024 team was disappointing to say the least. Attendance was down by a double-digit percentage as were the television ratings, which no doubt was the result of two consecutive seasons of underperformance. Cardinals fans expect better than what they received.
As a result, the organization is conducting a “reset”. Fans can draw their own conclusions about the meaning that squishy word intends to convey. I suspect many fans think “rebuild” instead.
Whatever nomenclature is used, the organization is not planning to spend to win at the major league level in the usual way. Major league payroll will be cut, though by how much remains to be seen.
The 2025 team is likely going to look remarkably different. From the perspective of many fans, unfortunately the operations team running it will not.
NL Central Final Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB | WCGB |
| Milwaukee | 93 | 69 | 0.574 | ||
| St. Louis | 83 | 79 | 0.512 | 10 | 6 |
| Chicago | 83 | 79 | 0.512 | 10 | 6 |
| Cincinnati | 77 | 85 | 0.475 | 16 | 12 |
| Pittsburgh | 76 | 86 | 0.469 | 17 | 13 |
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
In their end of season press conference, the Cardinals made clear that due to the organization’s announced “reset” they will be reducing the major league payroll to put more funding into a reorganization of the Player Development System.
However, taking the overall environment into account, one would be naïve to assume that the two dollar amounts will be anywhere near equal.
Though Mozeliak was not specific, he indicated that trades of several veteran players may be occurring in the offseason. The likelihood of several high salary players being offered for trade depended, he said, on projected revenues.
Mozeliak noted that the veteran players that may or may not be available for trade, Sonny Gray, Nolan Arenado and Willson Contreras, all have full no trade clauses in their contracts. Any trades of these players, according to Mozeliak, could not be considered until after he had conversations with them individually.
Several sources, including Katie Woo of the Athletic, have indicated that closer Ryan Helsley may be on the trading block as well. Helsley, who this season broke the franchise record for saves set by Trevor Rosenthal, enters his final year of arbitration. The right-hander is likely to command a salary approaching $7 million, but could also fetch a nice return via trade if the Cardinals decide to move in that direction.
Transactions
The Cardinals made their end of season transactions to prepare the 40-man roster for the upcoming offseason. These are the transactions that occurred:
- 10/1 The Cardinals activated RHP Sonny Gray, C Willson Contreras, LHP JoJo Romero and RHP Lance Lynn from the 10- and 15-day injured lists.
- 10/1 The Cardinals recalled CF Victor Scott, LHP Zack Thompson, RHP Ryan Loutos, 2B Nolan Gorman, RHP Sem Robberse, RHP Adam Kloffenstein and RHP Gordon Graceffo from the Memphis Redbirds. (These were all the 40-man players who finished the season in Triple-A.)
Injury Report
There are no new injuries to report. All 40-man players who were on a 10 or 15 day injured list as of the end of the season, have all been activated and returned to the roster.
Two players on the 60-day injured list, Keynan Middelton and Drew Rom, will be activated at a later date.
Looking Ahead
The postseason has begun without the participation of the Cardinals. The Wild Card round has ended, which included the elimination of the NL Central champion Milwaukee Brewers. The Division Series round began on Saturday, October 5.
The postseason will continue through October and conclude with a potential World Series Game 7 on Saturday, November 2.
After the end of the World Series, the offseason officially begins. As of 9 am on the day after the end of the World Series, all eligible free agents will officially become free agents. During a period of five days, all free agents may negotiate exclusively with their current club.
Also, during that five-day window, teams must decide whether to pick up or decline any player options. For the Cardinals, this affects pitchers Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson.
The five-day window is also when teams must make any qualifying offers to departing free agents. This offseason’s QO is projected to be $21.2 million for a one-year contract. The Cardinals’ eligible free agents are Paul Goldschmidt, Matt Carpenter, Keynan Middleton and Andrew Kittredge. Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson will be free agents if the team declines their club options.
It is exceptionally unlikely that the Cardinals will make the QO to any of their free agents. In fact, it may be a long shot for any to return in 2025 at any price.
Blast from the Past
The Cardinals finished the 2024 season without making the postseason for two consecutive seasons, though they narrowly avoided a second straight losing year. Though the situation is understandably frustrating to fans, postseason droughts are not uncommon and have occurred throughout the history of this storied franchise.
The case can be made that under the current ownership regime, the team has been more successful in reaching the postseason than in other periods in the 120+ history of the Cardinals franchise.
But the most recent years have been much tougher, with the team missing the postseason in five of the last nine years. During that time, they have won just one playoff series.
In this week’s Blast from the Past, we review the postseason history of the St. Louis Cardinals and how it developed over time. We begin with a brief outline of how the postseason structure has changed since its inception.
Since 1903, major league baseball has had a final series, called the “World Series”, which was used to determine a “champion” of the sport. This Series featured one team from each of the two leagues, the winners of the “pennant”. These pennant winners were the team with the best record in each league at the end of the season.
The two pennant winners then faced off in a multi-game World Series to determine the champion. The Series was the best of seven, except for the years 1903 and 1919-21, when it was best of nine.
This was the postseason format until 1969 when the two leagues expanded from eight teams each to 12. At that time, the “Championship Series” was established. Each league had an East and West Division. The winners of each Division played a best of five series to determine which two teams would move on to the World Series.
The format changed again in 1994, when a Central Division was added to each league and the “Division Series” was born. To avoid the unbalanced number of Division winners, a Wild Card team was added to each league.
In 2012, the Wild Card teams were expanded to two per league. A third Wild Card team was added in 2022 as the postseason expanded to 12 teams.
Under the present system, there are more opportunities for teams to get into the postseason than ever before. As a result, the expectation of each team’s fans has expanded as well.
After 1903, when the first World Series was played, the Cardinals did not win a pennant until 1926. That was a 23-year drought. From 1927 until 1946, the Cardinals went to the World Series seven more times.
It was 18 more years, until 1964, before the Cardinals again played in the World Series. They went again in 1967 and 1968 – three times in a five-year span.
The Cardinals won their Division and went to the Championship Series in 1982, 1985 and 1987. They won all three and advanced to the World Series, winning once in 1982. This was after a 14-year drought, from 1969 until 1982.
When the Division Series was added in 1994, the Cardinals went to the postseason again in 1996, after the team was purchased by a group led by Bill DeWitt Jr.
Under the ownership of the DeWitt group, the Cardinals have gone to the postseason 17 times – in 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.
Granted, the opportunities have greatly expanded over time and the Cardinals have had varied degrees of success in advancing beyond the first round. However, the success rate of postseason advancement in a sport that has expanded from 16 teams in the early years to 30 at the present time, has clearly improved with the current regime.
That is not to say that there isn’t space for improvement, but it is important that we all maintain perspective and take for granted that the Cardinals as a franchise have been more successful in the last 29 years than in any other period in franchise history. The Cardinals have the second most World Series titles in the sport, behind only the Yankees. We all should take a breath and be grateful.
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