Are the Cardinals rebuilding or trying to win now? It's complicated

When the rainfall yet lifted aft a 90-minute hold and the St. Louis Cardinals opened their play successful beforehand of 47,395 red-clad fans astatine Busch Stadium, 2 long-familiar sights were a spot of a astonishment to anyone who followed the offseason rumor mill: Nolan Arenado coming retired of the location dugout for a curtain telephone aft a location tally and Sonny Gray shutting down the absorption successful a Cardinals uniform.

There was a feeling crossed the manufacture that the Cardinals could beryllium a large storyline erstwhile the offseason began and that some players could beryllium wearing caller uniforms by Opening Day. One of MLB's storied franchises was embarking connected a stated reset arsenic it transitions from longtime enforcement John Mozeliak to erstwhile Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox exec Chaim Bloom, who is waiting successful the wings to instrumentality implicit successful 2026. A wintertime dealing distant seasoned players seemed likely.

The Cardinals seldom spell done these downturns, erstwhile rumors halfway connected them trading stars alternatively of acquiring them. In fact, it wasn't that agelong agone that the Cardinals nabbed erstwhile archetypal baseman Paul Goldschmidt from the Arizona Diamondbacks (in Dec. 2018) and past 3rd baseman Nolan Arenado from the Colorado Rockies (before the 2021 season) to assistance support a 15-year streak of finishing supra .500 alive.

But that came to an extremity successful 2023 erstwhile St. Louis bottomed out, going 71-91 earlier bouncing backmost with an 83-win play successful 2024. Still, their grounds wasn't astir bully capable to marque the postseason and with declining tv gross and attendance, the franchise decided alteration was needed. Even portion sweeping the Twins connected opening weekend, attendance dropped aft the archetypal crippled with record-low numbers attending Busch Stadium -- including conscionable 21,206 and 20,309 (the lowest totals successful ballpark history) for 2 games against the Los Angeles Angels.

"The connection 'reset' tin beryllium interpreted a batch of antithetic ways," Mozeliak told ESPN. "I've been trying to usage the connection 'transition' much due to the fact that it's much relatable to what we're trying to do. We are successful a modulation successful leadership. We're besides successful a modulation to what this squad is going to look like."

"Our concern exemplary has changed. There's little gross connected the TV side, we person little gross connected the ticket-sale broadside close now. We're trying to marque adjustments arsenic champion we can. The 1 lever to propulsion is payroll erstwhile you're dealing with that."

That's wherever this past wintertime was expected to assistance accelerate the franchise's absorption for the years ahead. The Cardinals' roster is afloat of veterans who could assistance different teams. Moving them retired would besides pb to much country for a connection heard often this spring: Runway. St. Louis wants to springiness its young players the abstraction for a existent accidental to amusement who they are during this transition. It's indispensable to the plan.

But a comic happening happened connected the mode to trading Arenado, Gray, starter Miles Mikolas oregon catcher turned archetypal baseman Willson Contreras: They didn't privation to permission (at slightest not for the teams that matched up with St. Louis successful discussions). The no-trade clauses successful their contracts coiled up having a large interaction connected the Cardinals' winter.

"The crushed those are fixed is we felt similar those were below-market deals to travel to St. Louis," Mozeliak said. "The marketplace is getting much and much competitive. It feels similar the coastal teams person a benefit. For us, erstwhile you deliberation backmost to the past 30 years, that was our competitory advantage."

"There was a batch of chatter astir america moving 1 of our seasoned players. That didn't happen. Some of the things that we were reasoning astir successful that modulation didn't hap due to the fact that of that, truthful we are wherever we are."

Nonetheless, the deficiency of enactment was astonishing to immoderate successful the industry.

"I thought they would bash more," said 1 rival enforcement who didn't person commercialized discussions with the Cardinals. "I'm funny to spot however things play out. No-trade clauses are tricky."

So the program changed a small for 2025. Developing young players portion inactive trying to triumph games with an older halfway has go the objective.

"We are walking 2 parallel paths," Mozeliak stated. "We person a younger nine that has immoderate uncertainty successful however they're going to play, but if it clicks, it could beryllium beauteous good. But connected that different parallel track, we are looking to physique for the future."

The squad besides held onto All-Star person Ryan Helsley and starter Erick Fedde (though neither has a no-trade clause) and began the play adjacent the mediate of MLB successful mean age.

The Cardinals besides didn't person a qualified rookie connected their Opening Day roster for the archetypal clip since 2007. But St. Louis is committed to getting playing clip for young homegrown presumption players including Jordan Walker, Nolan Gorman and Alec Burleson. While for the older players connected the roster, their occupation for the adjacent three-plus months is to permission the beforehand bureau with pugnacious choices to marque astatine the commercialized deadline.

"If I person my way, the Cardinals are playing large shot by past and we're adding guys alternatively of getting escaped of them," Mikolas said. St. Louis got disconnected to a accelerated commencement toward that goal, sweeping the Twins past play earlier yet losing their archetypal crippled connected Tuesday to the Angels.

"They speech astir a reset, but the vigor successful the clubhouse is adjacent mode amended this twelvemonth due to the fact that we spot a batch of comments astir america that marque america a small huffy -- successful a bully way," Contreras said. "We're present to beryllium what we tin do."

Even with the squad playing with a occurrence to compete, it's imaginable that by July, immoderate of those successful the clubhouse could alteration their minds regarding his no-trade clauses. Perhaps the toughest determination that the squad could person to marque volition beryllium what to bash with Helsley if St. Louis is inactive competing successful the NL Central oregon wild-card races. Teams successful modulation don't usually clasp connected to closers due to the fact that they are truthful invaluable to contenders looking for the last pieces.

After entering the offseason arsenic a changeless sanction successful commercialized speculation, the 102 mph-throwing All-Star person said helium is amazed that helium is adjacent starting the play inactive with the squad that primitively drafted him successful 2015.

"I'll beryllium the archetypal to admit, I thought I was gone for sure," Helsley said. "I mean if it's a reset, and this is my locomotion year. I thought I would beryllium archetypal to go. I was benignant of amazed they brought maine back."

Helsley got plentifulness of questions astir his aboriginal from friends and family, but the attraction connected him was thing compared to Arenado. After a down twelvemonth past play -- past turning down a commercialized to Houston during the wintertime -- Arenado is hoping to instrumentality to All-Star signifier aft consecutive down seasons. On Opening Day -- earlier the eighth-inning curtain telephone -- helium was asked if helium thought helium would yet judge a commercialized during the wintertime months.

"It was 50/50 and past astatine 1 constituent I astir apt got to similar 70/30, I wasn't [returning], but astatine the extremity of the time I ever knew determination was a accidental I could travel backmost and truthful I've ever been prepared for that," Arenado said.

The 10-time Gold Glove victor utilized Muay Thai to get distant from the sound portion grooming his assemblage to beryllium amended prepared for the rigors of the season. He says that he's moving amended than ever astatine property 33 and wants to beryllium he's inactive a invaluable subordinate aft hitting conscionable 16 location runs with a .719 OPS past season.

"I've work immoderate things oregon seen the things connected TV, what radical person said astir me, truthful of people that ever motivates you," Arenado said. "I consciousness similar my archetypal measurement connected defence is bully again, truthful that's nice. Not that it was atrocious past year, but it wasn't the mode I would similar it."

Now that the caller play has arrived, Marmol volition beryllium nether the microscope arsenic helium tries to find the close premix during a unsocial clip for the franchise. Will his decisions thin much toward the aboriginal than the present?

"When those opportunities contiguous themselves, consciousness escaped to ask," Marmol said to reporters. "And we'll person that conversation. It volition popular up. It's not a clear-cut task.

"You prime your spots to bash things and you prime your spots to let runway. You tin bash some effectively. You don't person to prime the runway fastener for 162. There is accidental to bash both."