Cardinals Surprised MLB Throughout Offseason: 'Confounding Executives'

The St. Louis Cardinals certainly have had a weird few months.

When the 2024 Major League Baseball season ended, the Cardinals made their intentions for the offseason clear. St. Louis said it wanted to "reset" the team in John Mozeliak's final year as the team's president of baseball operations.

The Cardinals said they wanted to do this by lowering the payroll and immediately were in a plethora of trade rumors as pretty much every veteran on the roster was mentioned in trade talks at different points. While this is the case, the Cardinals have pretty much to show for the offseason aside from losing Paul Goldschmidt in free agency and turning down Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn's club options. The Cardinals also have made a few minor league loves.

Frankly, it's been an odd offseason. ESPN's Jeff Passan furthered this point and shared that the Cardinals have been "confounding executives" throughout the offseason.

"Why St. Louis hasn't been more aggressive in dealing its bevy of talent -- from Arenado to starters Sonny Gray and Erick Fedde to closer Ryan Helsley to young players (Jordan Walker and Nolan Gorman) who have hit a wall -- is confounding executives around the industry," Passan said. "If the Cardinals aren't going to spend -- and they haven't spent a dollar in free agency -- surely, the thinking goes, they should leverage the players they've got now and start building toward something more.

"Instead, they are seemingly content to run it back, even if that means the awkwardness of Arenado returning. The Cardinals have prepared for that possibility -- and are content following a mediocre season in which they lost nearly 400,000 fans with another uninspiring winter. It's an organization stuck in neutral, a feeling that led to John Mozeliak announcing he will step away after the 2025 season and yielding the team's president of baseball operations job to former Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom."

It's been a weird offseason but at least real action is about to kick off in Spring Training.