'Participating In 2025': Cardinals Not Expected To Be Active Spenders

The Cardinals may have a quieter offseason than usual.

Sep 11, 2023; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; A detailed view of the 9/11 ribbon on a St. Louis Cardinals hat in the dugout before the game against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images / Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals finished the 2024 season with an 83-79 record, missing the playoffs for the second straight year.

Now, the Cardinals are pivoting and taking a new approach this offseason. Instead of adding players, they will likely be subtracting veterans via trade and focusing more on their youth.

Ultimately, the Cardinals are entering a rebuilding phase which may take a few years to sort out before they can get back into contention.

When ranking spending tiers this offseason, Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report had the Cardinals in the bottom tier if teams that are "participating in 2025."

"Every year, there's a group of teams that are just participating because of financial constraints ownership has put on their front office," Kelly wrote.

"A surprise entrant onto this list this year is the Cardinals. It appears St. Louis will take a step back at the MLB level in 2025 and divert some of those resources from MLB payroll to player development. That means Paul Goldschmidt and Kyle Gibson will depart in free agency, while Ryan Helsley and Nolan Arenado could be traded."

The Cardinals signed several free agents last offseason to bolster their pitching staff, including Sonny Gray. But this offseason will be different, and it's possible that St. Louis will not sign a single free agent to bolster their Major League roster.

This means players such as Thomas Saggese, Nolan Gorman, Ivan Herrera and Victor Scott II will receive extra playing time. It will be interesting to see how the Cardinals approach this winter as they prioritize youth.

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