Five Things the Cardinals Must Do To Become Contenders in 2025

For the St. Louis Cardinals, 2024 was another year without a postseason appearance and with plenty of frustrations, both on the field and in the stands. However, it’s clear that the franchise has put its collective foot on the ground and pivoted toward a new direction for 2025 and beyond.

With the decision to institute Chaim Bloom as the general manager in waiting this season, John Mozeliak has one more campaign remaining on his contract to put his fingerprints on the present and future of the organization. With that in mind, in some respects, 2025 can be viewed as a “bridge season” under the Gateway Arch with the torch being passed from Mozeliak to Bloom. There are, however, roster moves that could indicate just how much of a bridge season between the past and future of the Cardinals it could be on the field as well.

“This is a reset,” Mozeliak told reporters in his end of the season press conference. “Yes, this is going to be where we’re not focusing on necessarily building the best possible roster we can. We’re also excited about the roster. We do have a bunch of young players. We also have some emerging stars at the minor league level. How we could augment that over the next few months, time will tell.”

With Paul Goldschmidt not expected to return at first base for the Cardinals, the experiment that landed him and Nolan Arenado at the corners of the infield (and cornerstones of the lineup) is almost certainly over. Great things were expected with the duo anchoring the offense, but the results simply didn’t happen. A Wild Card round loss at the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2021 and Wild Card round sweep at home at the hands of the Philadelphia Phillies in 2022 are the only postseason games where Goldschmidt and Arenado were in the St. Louis lineup … and the Cardinals went 0-3.

With St. Louis coming off an 83-79 record last season and changes certainly coming, how do the Cardinals become legitimate contenders in 2025? Here are five ideas.

Don’t spend the wrong money

It’s a weird statement I know, but the Cardinals are expected to lower payroll in 2025. With that in mind, St. Louis has to spend any kind of money this offseason wisely rather than throwing money at potential roster Band-Aids with long-term implications.

There are plenty of reasons to be excited about some of the young players who will likely impact the team in 2025 (more about that in a moment) and this is Mozeliak’s last year as the team’s front office leader. The Cardinals should spend where it makes sense this offseason, but don’t handcuff Bloom with free agent contracts that can’t come off the books for 2026 when he starts to put his vision together for the franchise.

According to Spotrac, the Cardinals already have five contracts of more than $10 million on the books for next season (and that’s before potential club options for Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson, two veteran pitchers who were expected to be among the keys to rebuilding the rotation). There isn’t a lot of room for another big contract in there if the Cardinals are indeed serious about lowering the payroll, so looking for one-year deals that can raise the roster is a must this offseason.

Let the young kids lead

Masyn Winn is becoming the face of the franchise after a 2024 season where he earned Gold Glove finalist honors and slashed .267/.314/.416 with 15 homers and 57 RBI while setting a Cardinals record for games played by a rookie shortstop with 147. There is room for growth in Winn’s second full season in St. Louis, and there will likely be even more confidence knowing he has established himself as a legitimate difference-maker at the plate and in the field.

Jordan Walker needs to not only prove he can be an everyday contributor for the Cardinals, but also needs to be given the chance to do so in 2025. His slash line of .201/.253/.366 in 178 plate appearances was abysmal last season, but he did finish the season with a slash line of .253/.286/.494 in 91 September plate appearances. That’s a promising sign for what could be to come in 2025 if the Cardinals give Walker a position and stick with him, through the good and bad.

There is also a real possibility that prospects Tink Hence and Quinn Mathews could compete for jobs in the starting rotation in 2025. Why not give them every chance to do just that in spring training and try rebuilding the starting pitcher options from within?

As our own Joey Peterson wrote here, Sonny Gray should be at the front of the rotation in 2025, but young faces in the back would likely be a welcome sign for Cardinals fans.

Cardinals must embrace a new Nolan Arenado

There was a time when Arenado was one of the most feared sluggers in all of baseball. That time is coming to a close as Arenado will turn 34 on April 16 and is coming off a season where he improved some of his numbers over 2023, but still finished with just a 101 OPS+.

In 635 plate appearances last season, Arenado hit just 16 homers and accounted for 71 RBI. His 228 total bases in 2024 represented his lowest number in a 162-game season since his second year in the league (2014). These are just some of the signs that manager Oliver Marmol must be prepared to move Arenado out of the heart of the batting order in 2024. With Goldschmidt gone, this is a good opportunity to see how Arenado would hit batting fifth or sixth in the lineup (something he did in 51 games last season) on a consistent basis.

This is also a season when the Cardinals should start thinking about life after Arenado at third base as well. While his contract is slated to run through the 2027 season, there’s nothing wrong with considering what other players (Brendan Donovan, perhaps?) could see more time there moving forward.

Be prepared to trade Ryan Helsley

Coming off a season where Helsley led all MLB relievers with 49 saves, this could be the offseason to consider trading him to fill other roster needs.

Helsley will be a free agent after the 2025 season, so the Cardinals are coming upon a point where they will have to decide just how much of the future will involve the 30-year-old right-hander. His trade value will likely never be higher than it is right now, and relievers are always a volatile commodity, so exploring trade options for Helsley before next season begins could be a wise move for the Cardinals.

Spotrac projects that Helsley could be in line for a six-year, $81 million deal with his next contract. There is potential value there, but will the Cardinals be willing to spend that money?

Helsley was a key part of the Cardinals’ success in 2024, but there is no guarantee for performance or health next season. If an enticing offer comes Mozeliak’s way this offseason and it could help build the Cardinals for the future, Helsley should be on his way out of the Gateway City.

Get a full, drama-free season from Willson Contreras

Contreras has been behind the plate for the Cardinals for two seasons now, and neither have gone the way the St. Louis faithful wanted to see them go. In 2023, his first season in St. Louis, there was plenty of back and forth between Contreras and Marmol about his play behind the plate and if he was the one to blame for the high earned run average from the Cardinals pitchers at the start of the season. It was a rocky start to a five-year, $87.5 million deal.

Last season, the drama was gone but injuries reared their ugly head with Contreras as a a pair of fractures (left arm and right middle finger) limited him to just 84 games and 301 at-bats. Contreras slashed .262/.380/.468 for an OPS+ of 136 when healthy, showing what he could mean for the Cardinals if given the chance to focus behind the plate.

With young pitchers on the way, a veteran presence like Contreras catching would be a boost. Additionally, the Cardinals will need a steady and dependable veteran bat in the lineup in 2025, and Contreras could fit that role well … if he can stay healthy.

Contreras was signed away from the rival Chicago Cubs to be a difference-maker in St. Louis and carry on Yadier Molina’s impressive legacy at catcher. This needs to be the season that that happens.