ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
2025 finish: 78-84 (4th in NL Central)
Manager: Oliver Marmol (325-323, 5th season)
Leading the front office: Chaim Bloom, president of baseball operations (1st season)
DOLLARS AND SENSE
Largest luxury tax hit: RHP Dustin May ($12.5 million)
Top returning players: SS Masyn Winn (3.5 fWAR), C Ivan Herrera (2.7), 1B Alec Burleson (2.1)
Top returning starting pitchers: LHP Matthew Liberatore (1.8), RHP Kyle Leahy (1.4), RHP Michael McGreevy (0.9)
Top returning relievers: LHP JoJo Romero (0.9), RHP Gordon Gracefo (0.5), RHP Riley O’Brien (0.3)
ROSTER WATCH
Key additions: RHP Dustin May (free agent), RHP Ryne Stanek (free agent), RHP George Soriano (trade), C Yohel Pozo (free agent), RHP Richard Fitts (trade), LHP Justin Bruihl (trade), 3B Bryan Ramos (waivers), SWP Jurrangelo Cijntje (trade), LHP Jared Shuster (minors)
Key losses: UT Brendan Donovan (trade), 1B Willson Contreras (trade), 3B Nolan Arenado (trade), RHP Sonny Gray (trade), RHP Miles Mikolas (free agent), UT Garrett Hampson (free agent), LHP John King (free agent), RHP Jorge Alcala (free agent)
Baseball America top-100 prospect(s): SS JJ Wetherholt (3), LHP Liam Doyle (33), C Rainiel Rodriguez (35), OF Joshua Baez (54)
St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Matthew Liberatore pauses on the mound during the first inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves Friday, July 11, 2025, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
KEEP AN EYE ON
In his first year on the job, new baseball ops chief Chaim Bloom is overseeing a rebuild of a franchise has finished in the NL Central cellar just once since 1990. The Cardinals bounced back a bit after a 71-win season in 2023, but they appear to be in a full strip-down after trading away UT Brendan Donovan, 1B Willson Contreras, RHP Sonny Gray and 3B Nolan Arenado while adding just one significant free agent.
That pickup is RHP Dustin May, who signed a one-year deal for $12.5 million to rebuild his value. The 28-year-old had a 4.96 ERA over 132 innings last year in his first year since missing all of 2024 with multiple injuries. The 132 innings was also a career high as May had never thrown more than 56 innings in the majors before last year.
The next phase of the youth movement is JJ Wetherholt, who had a .931 OPS while spending much of last year at Triple-A Memphis. Wetherholt won’t push Masyn Winn off shortstop, but he could have a clear runway to grab second base over Thomas Saggese and Jose Fermin.
Fangraphs projection: 74.8 wins