The St. Louis Cardinals may not be rebuilding after all. Yes, payroll will go down in 2025, but there may be a good reason for that. And no, the Cardinals aren’t punting on the 2025 season. Maybe they won’t be as aggressive to contend for a postseason spot as they have in years past, but they’re finally committing to something that was long overdue. They’re letting the kids play.
As reported by Katie Woo of the Athletic (subscription required), Cardinals president John Mozeliak stated at the recent GM meetings, “Our team is not going to look all that different” and “We are going to find pathways to give our younger players a chance to play and see what they can do.”
While in previous seasons, they may have targeted specific free agents to upgrade at their weakest positions, the Cardinals instead want to give opportunities to young players who struggled in 2024 rather than giving them less playing time while trying to field the best possible team. Nolan Gorman, Victor Scott II, and Jordan Walker immediately come to mind as Cardinals who could show massive improvements in 2025 if given proper playing time.
It seems like the Cardinals are learning from past mistakes, moving on from young and promising talent far too early only to let them flourish in their new environments. The cries of Adolis Garcia, Randy Arozarena, Lane Thomas, and many others grow tiresome, but these are all valid frustrations as the Cardinals have simply failed to develop their own homegrown talent rece
ntly.
