SAN ANTONIO — As Major League Baseball’s annual general managers meetings began to wind down, various members of the St. Louis Cardinals brass gathered at a table in the hotel lobby bar Wednesday evening.
There was no shortage of items they needed to discuss.
President of baseball operations John Mozeliak, along with special advisor Chaim Bloom and assistant general managers Moisés Rodríguez, Randy Flores and newly hired Rob Cerfolio were all in attendance for this year’s meetings, though their operations were much different than years prior. This will be Mozeliak’s last offseason as the head of the Cardinals and his transition period to Bloom is well underway. A reset is coming for the Cardinals in 2025 it goes far beyond next year’s roster.
While much of what this reset period will look like is still being determined, the GM meetings did allow for some clarity in a few areas. Here’s what we know about the Cardinals as the offseason picks up steam.
“My prediction is St. Louis will be one of the more active teams come December, but not in the ways that we usually expect.”@katiejwoo joins @jonmorosi to share insight into how the Cardinals will approach the offseason. #MLBTonight pic.twitter.com/z36GepuVwy
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) November 7, 2024
Willson Contreras and Sonny Gray will likely remain Cardinals
The defining trait of the Cardinals’ reset period is player development. For some players, such as Masyn Winn and Brendan Donovan, expectations are clear. Both players are considered central to the Cardinals’ future. There are many others — such as Jordan Walker, Lars Nootbaar, Nolan Gorman, Andre Pallante and Alec Burleson — where expectations aren’t as clear. The Cardinals plan to see how several players perform when given consistent playing time in 2025. They feel this is necessary to evaluate each player properly.
The Cardinals are not tanking. They are rebuilding to a degree, but they are doing so without tearing the roster down and starting from scratch. With Bloom taking over for Mozeliak as president of baseball operations in 2026, the organization believes now is the right time to begin this process. There is no timeline for how long this reset period could take. Mozeliak explained this concept to several veterans, including the four with full no-trade clauses (Nolan Arenado, Willson Contreras, Sonny Gray and Miles Mikolas). If a player wanted to stay through the transition, the Cardinals would welcome that. If not, the team would work with the player to find an agreeable trade.
Per Mozeliak, Contreras strongly expressed a desire to remain in St. Louis. In turn, the catcher accepted a position change to a hybrid role, where he will split time between first base and designated hitter. The Cardinals’ medical team believes moving Contreras from behind the plate is best for his health and the longevity of his career. It also clears the way for Iván Herrera and Pedro Pagés to take over at catcher while keeping Contreras’ bat in the lineup.
“We think from an offensive standpoint it strengthens us,” Mozeliak said. “From a defensive standpoint, it creates an opportunity for those two players.”
Though Mozeliak declined to discuss his conversations further, at least one other veteran is on board with the Cardinals’ reset plan. Per multiple league sources, Gray also told Mozeliak he’d prefer to stay with St. Louis. Gray, signed through 2026 with a club option for 2027, is still owed $65 million.
The futures for Arenado and Mikolas are unknown, though trading either player is no guarantee. Not only will their full no-trade clauses complicate any potential transaction, but both players will also have heavy salaries that could deter teams. Arenado is due $52 million over the next three years, though some of that money is deferred. Mikolas is in the final year of his deal and will make $17.6 million.
As the offseason unfurls, so will clarity about both players’ futures in St. Louis. Speculation regarding a potential Arenado trade will be a pressing topic leading into the Winter Meetings next month. Should the Cardinals get to where that becomes a reality, they will work with Arenado to find a suitable landing place.
Television and ticket revenue will impact payroll
The Cardinals do not have their payroll established for next year, though Mozeliak has stated multiple times over the last month that the number would decrease. Part of that stems from the club’s desire to emphasize youth, which played a role in the Cardinals declining their 2025 options for Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson, both 37.
The bigger issue, though, is revenue. Several MLB teams are being held in limbo as Diamond Sports Group, the parent company of FanDuel Sports Network (previously Bally Sports) maneuvers through bankruptcy hearings. This has jeopardized Cardinals’ partnership with their regional sports network, a major factor in overall revenue. Even if St. Louis can keep its current deal (the club is under contract for one more season) that contract would almost certainly be renegotiated to a much smaller amount. That, along with a significant drop in attendance last season — the Cardinals failed to draw more than 3 million fans for the first time in 18 years — attributes to the drop in payroll more than the youth movement.
“We’re definitely going to have lower revenue from our TV package and we’re probably going to have a lower ticket revenue than we’ve seen in past years,” Mozeliak said.
This could lead to the Cardinals looking to trade a few assets. Ryan Helsley has garnered significant interest from rival clubs and was a popular name during the GM meetings. Helsley, 30, was MLB’s saves leader last year with 49 and is due for a significant raise in his final year of arbitration. Most projections estimate Helsley netting over $6 million next year, nearly double his 2024 salary. With Helsley set to be a free agent after the 2025 season, the Cardinals could be inclined to move him while he’s at his peak value. This would also open up opportunities in the bullpen for several arms in Triple A. Steven Matz, who will make $12 million in the final year of his four-year, $44 million deal, is another trade candidate.
“I do feel like not picking up the options gave us a little flexibility,” Mozeliak said, referring to Gibson and Lynn. “But trying to maybe move some payroll between now and spring training I do think would give us more breathing room.
Additional player development hires are coming
On top of their usual GM meetings duties, the Cardinals brass spent the week darting in and out of the host resort, interviewing several candidates for a variety of positions opening in the organization’s player development department. Cerfolio, with Bloom and Mozeliak, spent the last couple of weeks narrowing down candidates for the team’s farm director position, a process Mozeliak said could be finished as early as next week. From there, St. Louis will hire a director of performance.
A multitude of staffing additions are set to take place over the winter. After consistently fielding one of the smallest coordinating staffs in baseball, the Cardinals are expanding their minor-league staff. That will include an outfield coordinator and catching coordinator, Mozeliak said, two positions the Cardinals have not had dating back several years.
Along with on-field personnel, St. Louis is also looking to modernize its technology and player evaluations. Bloom, who is overseeing this process until he takes over for Mozeliak, has spoken at length about the widespread advancements in player development throughout the industry. By expanding the on-field staff and implementing new data programs, along with people who can utilize information, the Cardinals are hopeful to jump-start their long-needed modernization.
(Photo of Ryan Helsley: Jerome Miron / USA Today)
