He St. Louis Cardinals They are finally ready to hug the tank. Or, uh, patient reconstruction. However you put it, the 2025 campaign looks awfully bleak for die-hard Cards fans. Baseball is eternally unpredictable, but it’s been a while since St. Louis had two mediocre seasons like this one. Something has to change, and that could mean a more patient and less costly approach to restructuring a broken roster.

The winds of change have been howling in St. Louis for some time now. John Mozeliak is entering his final season as team president. St. Louis hasn’t stripped him of power yet, but Mozeliak is effectively a lame duck. They even have a replacement. alignedaccording to ESPN’s Jesse Rogers, with Chaim Bloom set to take over Mozeliak’s role in 2026.

Meanwhile, Bloom will oversee St. Louis’ player development program, repairing a farm system that desperately needs Bloom’s special touch. Say what you will about Bloom’s tumultuous tenure as Boston Red Sox GM, but his front office history is defined by excellent management of minor league programs. Bloom knows how to build a sustainable pipeline of young talent, which is what the Cardinals have been lacking of late.

That’s the direction St. Louis is taking: investing resources in the farm system and reestablishing the MLB team. As such, we can expect a quiet offseason.

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Discussing what lies ahead for the Cardinals, MLB.com’s John Denton he didn’t beat around the bush about what to expect this offseason.

“When it comes to free agency and the proverbial hot stove, it’s going to be a long, cold winter in St. Louis. Check back this time next year, when the Cardinals could be ready to return to the free agent pool “.

Phew. Most of the time, these statements come with hedges or qualifiers. But not this one. The Cardinals aren’t going to operate with aggression in free agency, it seems. This is probably the right approach – focusing more on building from within and establishing a solid foundation – but that won’t necessarily appease an anxious fanbase.

St. Louis has been one of the most successful MLB teams in recent decades. We rarely go more than a year without seeing the Cardinals in October. For St. Louis to essentially admit defeat on the current roster plan and commit to a third straight year of mediocrity, that’s not John Mozeliak’s playbook. It smells strongly of Chaim Bloom and signals what’s to come in St. Louis.

But this is good. Mediocrity with a plan is better than accidental mediocrity.

What will be fascinating is how St. Louis approaches the business front. Will Sonny Gray still be on the Cardinals when next season rolls around? How committed is St. Louis to Nolan Arenado with Paul Goldschmidt halfway there? Mozeliak and Bloom are looking to the future, which means any expired contracts or past veterans are more or less on the line. So, it may be a long, cold winter in St. Louis, but that doesn’t necessarily mean nothing’s going to happen. It just won’t make the fans happy.