St Louis Cardinals 2026
Dee_4_Three_83
- Mahomet, IL
I'm more excited for the extra picks than anything else. The pitcher might pan out and who knows about the position players, but my goodness, we will have a lot of LH batters to trade from if needed.
That does improve my thoughts on the trade quite a bit. Earlier reporting I read had TBs pick going to Seattle and did not mention Seattle giving us a pick. Glad we got both those picks.
Yeah, but how cool would it be if he came in as a reliever and had to pitch to 3 batters. One is a lefty who hits right-handed pitchers much better. He switches and pitches lefty.Cijntje gives reason for excitement. I'm also reading that he will be probably just be a rhp and is legit from the right side. Peete seems to have some power and speed, but that k rate is something we are all too familiar with. He is 20, and an former 1st round pick, I can see why they would take a shot on him. I've seen a Joshua Baez comp for him.
I'm a Cub fan, but I would make the effort to watch that.
Cardinals are also leaving FanDuel Sports Midwest and will have their games produced by MLB this season.
Here are some details on what that will look like: https://www.mlb.com/cardinals/schedule/programming
Here are some details on what that will look like: https://www.mlb.com/cardinals/schedule/programming
viking6888
Greeley, Colorado
How the Cardinals tore it down
How the Cardinals tore it down: Inside Chaim Bloom's rebuild in St. Louis and where they go from here
Chaim Bloom this winter has traded away Nolan Arenado, Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras and now Brendan Donovan
www.cbssports.com
Illwinsagain
- Cary, IL
Well, this is reassuring. Not sure if a fluff piece or legitimate reporting, but I hope it is accurate.How the Cardinals tore it down
How the Cardinals tore it down: Inside Chaim Bloom's rebuild in St. Louis and where they go from here
Chaim Bloom this winter has traded away Nolan Arenado, Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras and now Brendan Donovan
I've been pessimistic about this rebuild working and this right here is exactly why:How the Cardinals tore it down
How the Cardinals tore it down: Inside Chaim Bloom's rebuild in St. Louis and where they go from here
Chaim Bloom this winter has traded away Nolan Arenado, Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras and now Brendan Donovan
Translation:
The DeWitts responded to the temporary loss of revenue due to COVID by not investing in the team, gave the front office a drastically reduced budget and still expected Mo to find a way to win, which meant the money got allocated to the big league team and development suffered. Then they scapegoated Mo, and brought in Bloom to tear down the big league roster and fix what they had broken, without having to increase their investment.
So, ok, a rebuild is a good idea but the thing with successful rebuilds is, when the time is right, you pump investment back into the team to give yourself the best chance to win. I absolutely do not trust this ownership to do that. Hope I'm wrong, but if history is any indication we'll get right up to that point where we have a good foundation and need to spend to put us over the top then the DeWitts will cry poor and it will all be for naught.
IlliniFan85
- Colorado Springs, CO
I agree with you. It is hard to have faith in the ownership group when he told us that owning a baseball team is not a profitable business. And then proceeds to cut spending and then proceeds to lower the payroll of the current team. Ya the budget is around $100 million, but it is a far cry from when we were between 10-15th. And do we trust that once the $40 million that we sent out to help pay for players is gone, will we be even above $70 million in payroll?
Again, the guy flat out told us that “The industry isn’t very profitable to be quite honest,”. If the fans are not in the seats, then why would he put money into a product that he already feels doesn't produce money.
I stopped commenting in here because I lost faith in the direction the team was going. At least now with Bloom we have a direction. I actually think the rebuild is a good thing, but you have to have ownership who is willing to spend money once the time is right. Is Bloom here to run the Cardinals like the Rays now? That would be a wonderful outcome for one of the most storied baseball teams in MLB history. Stop spending on big free agents, and only pay for players for a few years before trading them away. Pretty much never having another Hall of Famer playing the majority of his career wearing the birds on the bat.
I love the Cardinals, and I believe I will never not love the Cardinals. I have almost 20 different fitted hats, and at this moment in time I plan on continuing to build my collection. However, if what I fear could occur, and @the juiceman cometh, and frankly a lot of other fans fear, then maybe I will stop collecting my hats. (If only the Illini had more fitted hat options as I hate snapback.)
I can see the worry that the DeWitts won't pump the money in when the time comes, and I think I've said this here before, but I really think the last few years have been a perfect storm of COVID lost revenue, the tv contract blowing up (this is the big one), Mo and the front office losing that edge they had in development, and Bill DeWitt jr. being one of the more connected owners and knowing there's going to be a work stoppage in 2027.
Now, the reasons some of those things happened are still present, but the TV stuff is relatively settled (it will be less revenue than the original Diamond Sports contract, but it will be projectable and consistent, which matters), the team is incredibly well positioned for a work stoppage (which is a very frustrating thing to think about, because screw the owners), and allegedly the player development and front office was rebuilt.
The DeWitt's always lived in the 8-10th range for payroll when the team was competitive, and I don't see any reason to really doubt they'd get back there. Now I don't want to actually defend DeWitt too much here because he's just kicking back in 2026 and collecting luxury tax dollars from other clubs while likely being a key cog in trying to screw the players in the next collective bargaining agreement, but the club does seem like they're in a decent position to put their foot on the gas after 2027 pending on how this glut of pitching and some exciting position player prospects develop.
As far as spending goes, there is ample history that shows clubs have to be in the upper half to win a World Series. Actually I believe it is top 12 or 13.
pruman91
- interviewing new NL's daily....I really really am
I have been a Cardinals fan since the mid 1950's................grew up listening to the stories my friends and family told about the Gashouse Gang , Dizzy Dean , Stan " the Man " Musial , etc...............Second in baseball history in WS Championships.........
I have also seen other teams cast off high priced stars and play better with younger players on the field over the years.....I am not saying that will happen with this new season coming up for the Cardinals as there are way to many question marks to be answered.....
Will the following players ever succeed at the MLB level ?????
Walker
Gorman
Nootbaar
Scott
Pallante (no way )
Liberatore
and many others......................
This experiment with Herrera back catching makes zero sense to me...............we are strongest in catcher potential in all of baseball and I don't remember Herrera being that good a defensive catcher at all.........Crooks , Bernal and Rodriguez are all sound catchers and potentially above average offensively.......keep Herrera as the DH and give him instruction at a new position if needed.......
I am more excited this year than any time in the last couple years to see new players on the roster......I really hope Wetherholt , Doyle and other new players can bring some excitement and hope back into the organization.................I really really do...............
I have also seen other teams cast off high priced stars and play better with younger players on the field over the years.....I am not saying that will happen with this new season coming up for the Cardinals as there are way to many question marks to be answered.....
Will the following players ever succeed at the MLB level ?????
Walker
Gorman
Nootbaar
Scott
Pallante (no way )
Liberatore
and many others......................
This experiment with Herrera back catching makes zero sense to me...............we are strongest in catcher potential in all of baseball and I don't remember Herrera being that good a defensive catcher at all.........Crooks , Bernal and Rodriguez are all sound catchers and potentially above average offensively.......keep Herrera as the DH and give him instruction at a new position if needed.......
I am more excited this year than any time in the last couple years to see new players on the roster......I really hope Wetherholt , Doyle and other new players can bring some excitement and hope back into the organization.................I really really do...............
IlliniFan85
- Colorado Springs, CO
I am excited to see what our youth are capable of as well. I think we have an exciting batch of players coming up. But I am also a lityle worried that Wetherholt might have too much pressure on himself to succeed as well.
TV revenue contracts have always made me shake my head. Ownership (from nearly every club) has banged on about the need to get butts in the seats first then they will pay for bigger named players. Hardly ever to they talk about the tv revenue stream.
It seems obvious to me if they want the bigger contracts from tv they need to have larger viewership first. Of course NY, LA and the like will always the the advantage but if teams, in this case StL, win games people will tune in. Teams that are winning games will have fans who are more willing to add the sports package to their cable subscription or buy a stand alone streaming program. They may not be able to drive 3 or 4 or 5 hours to sit in the stands every month but they will tune in and watch at home. the Golden Era of the Cardinals fan base was build on the back of the radio. The Cubs and Braves Superstations did the same with tv.
I am not an MBA but I know the product on the field directly contributes to the number of eyes on the team. Yet teams don't seem to care at all. They want to be paid first THEN, maybe, they will improve the product.
pruman91
- interviewing new NL's daily....I really really am
I wonder , now that the Cardinals are going with MLB TV , if they will do away with blackout restrictions...... wanted to do MLB TV before but the Cardinals were blacked out to me.........I am over 200 miles away from St. Louis......how crazy is that ??????
In the past I would get blacked out on MLB tv in Rockford area. 300 miles. I wouldn't buy it. Cubs, Sox and Brewers also claimed the territory. Just foolish on the owners part.
The years we made playoff are in italics. The years we won division are bolded and italicized. The years we finished below .500 are in red.
2014 - 12th
2015 - 12th
2016 - 8th
2017 - 10th
2018 - 9th
2019 - 7th
2020 - 11th
2021 - 9th
2022 - 13th
2023 - 16th
2024 - 14th
2025 - 19th
2026 (as of today) - 24th
As you can see, back in 2014/2015 payroll was outside the top ten. The team still did fine. But you look at those years and wonder what those teams could have been with another impact bat, because the pitching to go all the way was there. Investment bumped slightly back up to hover just into the top 10. For the years 2014-2022, a fairly competitive period, they were outside the top ten for four out of nine seasons.
When Covid hits, you see our payroll rank suffer. Keep in mind, Covid did not only hit St. Louis, or hit St. Louis disproportionately. But the teams were still competitive, even as other teams are passing us in payroll. The 2022 team was good. We won 93 games, won the division. Playoffs exposed some weaknesses, but there was a competitive team there. And we had the second highest attendance in the entire MLB, second only to the Dodgers.
Instead of upping investment, ownership cried poor, allowed more teams to pass us by, ending up with in the bottom half of the league for payroll for 2023. All the while at the same time, as we now know, putting the front office on a more restrictive budget that required deep cuts into the development system. The end result? First losing season since 2007.
These are the people we are expecting to jack this payroll back into the top ten (currently approx $250 million - meaning an investment of an additional $150 million would get us there) when the moment is right? They won't do it. They'll claim years of bad attendance numbers (because fans don't pay to see a bad team in the middle of a rebuild) means they don't have the resources to do it.
There are a few teams that have 6 - us, Guardians, and Mariners. We only got one of our guys in these trades though - the pitcher we just got from the Mariners who MLB Pipeline ranks as #91. The rest of the guys we drafted or signed as international prospects.
IlliniFan85
- Colorado Springs, CO
I thought i read no blackouts, but I am not sure.
228 mi Wrigley, 219 Sox, 136 Busch. Being able to watch on TV won't stop me from going to a game, but the distance will stop me from going to very many games. Wouldn't they make more money if they could add us to the numbers that they are selling to the advertisers? Heck, I am more likely to attend in person after watching some games on TV and getting fired-up!
Their pencil pushers have steered them wrong.
Their pencil pushers have steered them wrong.
AI sez:
For the 2026 season, there will be no, regional blackouts for in-market St. Louis Cardinals games, as Major League Baseball will produce and distribute games directly, including through the new Cardinals.TV streaming service. Fans in the traditional broadcast territory—Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and parts of Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi—can stream games without restriction.
Key In-Market Coverage Areas:
Missouri: Eastern, Central, and parts of Western Missouri.
Illinois: Entire state (typically).
Iowa: Entire state.
Regional States: Arkansas, Oklahoma, and parts of Tennessee, Kentucky, and Mississippi.
Specific Locations: Southwest Indiana and Pittsburg, Kansas.
IlliniFan85
- Colorado Springs, CO
I thought that was what I read, but I have been working long hours at work, not going to bed until after 2 am, and getting back up before 9am. I just can't trust what my brain is thinking at times. I can't even trust what I just wrote now.
Why did you say THAT??
