Cardinals Postseason Drought Predicted To Last Much Longer Than Fans Would Like

St. Louis might not return to the playoffs for a while

Aug 20, 2020; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals mascot Fredbird watches a game in the stands between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Cincinnati Reds during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Puetz-Imagn Images / Joe Puetz-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals haven't been to the playoffs since 2022 when Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina were still on the team and seats at games weren't empty.

For a Cardinals fan base used to seeing their favorite team compete in the playoffs annually, the last two years have been brutally painful.

With the Cardinals committed to resetting the franchise and prioritizing player development over the big-league roster, one insider believes it could be a while before St. Louis makes it to October.

"It's generally unwise to count the Cardinals out for any extended period of time, but a larger retooling than usual seems necessary," Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter wrote Tuesday when explaining his prediction that St. Louis won't return to the postseason until 2027.

If his prediction comes to fruition, that means Cardinals fans will have to endure four straight seasons without making the postseason.

The last time the Cardinals were eliminated from four consecutive playoff appearances was when St. Louis missed seven straight playoff bids from 1988-1995 (not including 1994, when the postseason was canceled due to a strike by the Major League Baseball Players Association).

After losing 91 games last season and disappointing fans with hopes of returning to the postseason after retooling the pitching staff last winter, hearing that the Cardinals might not compete in a playoff game for another three years is upsetting.

It would be great to refute Reuter's claim but sadly, the Cardinals have a No. 19-ranked farm system with a big-league roster full of homegrown talents who made their way through St. Louis' lackluster player development system.

Given how weak the franchise's player development system is, it could take some time for players such as Nolan Gorman, Jordan Walker and Lars Nootbaar to develop as major leaguers. Hopefully, the young St. Louis talent core will finally click, helping to end Cardinals fans' longsuffering.

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