Cardinals Facing ‘Make-Or-Break' Stretch That Could Determine Club’s Future

It's time for St. Louis to lock in and turn things around

Apr 12, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; St. Louis Cardinals third base Nolan Arenado (28) celebrates with first base Paul Goldschmidt (46) after hitting a three run home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports / Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

The St. Louis Cardinals are looking to make last year's tumultuous 71-91 record and last-place finish in the National League Central a season to forget by turning things around in 2024.

Unfortunately, things have not gone according to plan as the Cardinals offense has been the team's Achille's heel and the rotation has cooled off from a hot start to the season.

With the possibility of back-to-back losing seasons on the table, these next two months could shape the direction of St. Louis' future as the trade deadline steadily approaches.

"This is a franchise (Cardinals) that has been under the same leadership for nearly two decades, and there is a sense that matters are getting stale, that other teams have caught up with them," MLB.com's Will Leitch wrote Tuesday when discussing which franchises have a pivotal stretch ahead of them. "The Cardinals' brass does not buy this: They, and the players, believe this is about to turn around. But if that doesn’t happen over the next month, it may not just be the pitching staff that gets an overhaul."

In recent years, St. Louis has made some crucial mistakes that have jeopardized the future of the franchise and Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak is at the top of the list of people to blame.

Under his leadership, the Cardinals have traded away two high-end hurlers in Sandy Alcántara and Zac Gallen for Marcell Ozuna -- who St. Louis neglected to resign, dealt reigning World Series champion Adolis García to the Texas Rangers for cash and former homegrown talent Tyler O'Neill who's now slugging with the Boston Red Sox.

The Cardinals roster is currently led by 36-year-old Paul Goldschmidt and 33-year-old Nolan Arenado who have struggled at the plate, followed by a core of young talent who have fallen short of meeting expectations so far this year. Mozeliak's plan to build rising talent around veteran players has not worked out so well.

Luckily, the Cardinals have won six of their last eight games and the offense appears to be clicking. Hopefully, St. Louis can keep the momentum going and save the organization from having to rebuild at this summer's trade deadline.

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