This article explores how the St. Louis Cardinals can maximize an offseason that could prove pivotal for the future of their organization.
Written by: AJ Stone (12/9/25)
STL Cardinals 2026 Offseason Plan
2025 Summary:
The St. Louis Cardinals’ 2025 season is hard to surmise in an excerpt. So many moving parts, so many promises, so little actual progress.
Going into 2025, St. Louis’ slated goal was to give “runway” to young players to find out more about what they had brewing in the upper levels of their minor league system, while gaining much-needed clarity on stalling major league talents like Jordan Walker and Nolan Gorman.
Out of respect to the Cardinals, I won’t call the season a complete and utter failure. Names like Riley O’Brien and Matt Svanson have emerged as potential back-end arms for years to come (although relievers are known for their volatility), and infielders Brendan Donovan, the team’s lone All-Star, and Alec Burleson have really cemented themselves as quality major leaguers.
The Cardinal current roster makeup focuses on putting the ball in play and scoring with a “death by a thousand cuts” mentality, somewhat like the successful Cleveland Guardians have employed.
Players like Donovan, Burleson, Masyn Winn, Nolan Arenado (at this stage of his career), Yohel Pozo, and Ivan Herrera all uphold this system offensively.
However, the true question mark guys remain in career quicksand. Jordan Walker’s season was pitiful, and he seems to have hit “change of scenery” status. Walker’s 2025 campaign amounted to -1.7 WAR via Baseball Reference, while sporting an OPS under the .600 mark. Nolan Gorman continued to show flashes of his otherworldly raw power, but currently lacks the consistency to be a winning ballplayer. Gorman owned an OPS of .666 and was a liability in the field for St. Louis all season.
Gorman and Walker are both high-ceiling, low-floor players who lack defensive tools and even a true position, making it difficult to fit them into the current Cardinals’ composition. Walker remains a question mark in the outfield (-4 OAA), and Gorman was brutal at third base, even with a small sample size (-8 OAA).
Gorman’s true value to me is his raw power being instituted as a second baseman. A position that historically lacks power potential, having such a big-time threat could really add depth to a lineup. Moving Gorman to the hot corner realistically demands more of his bat and glove, a curious thing to do for a struggling young player.
The small wins the Cardinals had in the bullpen are supplemented by a short run of respectable results by young starter Michael McGreevey. However, his season (and maybe the team’s season) was squandered by the refusal to move on from struggling veteran arms Erick Fedde and Miles Mikolas.
If the Cardinals had made the choice to call up McGreevey in a quicker manner, they could have put themselves in a much better position to compete for the wide-open third wildcard spot down the stretch and, for more exigency, given additional runway to their young starter, who should play a key role in 2026.
Outside of O’Brien, Svanson, Herrera’s breakout, and McGreevey, the Cardinals truly didn’t add much clarity to their roster heading into next year. A shortcoming I’m sure general manager Chaim Bloom rolls his eyes at, as he is now tasked with not only moving on from big contracts but also problem-solving his struggling former top prospects.
2026 Goals:
Unfortunately, the Cardinals shouldn’t be aiming to compete in 2026.
With such a lackluster roster full of aging players who are about to surpass arbitration, it may be an opportune time to trade away pieces. We’ve now seen the Cardinals pass on trading for superstar after superstar, continuously overvaluing their own talent.
Names like Dylan Carlson, Paul Dejong, and now Jordan Walker and Nolan Gorman may haunt St. Louis fandom in the future, as they could’ve acquired the likes of Juan Soto, Bryce Harper, Max Scherzer, and Bryce Miller, just to name a few.
That being said, there are quite a few players on the St. Louis roster who have hit their stride at the perfect time to be flipped. One of the biggest goals for the 2026 offseason should be to trade away players who aren’t necessary for the future, clearing roster space for upcoming prospects and future free agency endeavors.
Another goal should be to pick a direction with your current rostered players who aren’t performing as expected. This past season saw new lows for Walker, Gorman, and underwhelming results from players like Thomas Saggese, Victor Scott II, and Andre Pallante.
This stalemate that former general manager John Mozeliak has seemed to have played with middle-of-the-road players needs to be done away with by the Chaim Bloom administration.
I’m truly hoping this new front office finds it within themselves to start treating their players like assets again, rather than like one big family tree.
CONCLUSION:
If used correctly, this offseason could be the jumping-off point for the Cardinals to spring themselves back into relevance. General manager Chaim Bloom has his work cut out for him, but with a few savvy moves and the temperament to make the hard decision, St. Louis could net a return that could not only benefit their roster in the immediate future (as soon as 2026) but also down the road.
The Cardinals’ farm system has continued to climb major league rankings, and with the addition of even more firepower, it could turn into the next active pipeline for young major league talent.
Doing so would truly revive the “Cardinal way” that it feels like they’ve been trying to recapture.
StonesJournal 
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