Better but still not good enough.
Those six words describe the 2024 St. Louis Cardinals, a team that rebounded from a rare last-place finish but still fell short of the playoffs.
A roster overloaded with aging veterans again kept the Cards light-years from winning their first National League pennant since 2013.
As a result, big changes are coming.
Chaim Bloom will succeed John Mozeliak as president of baseball operations after next season and such familiar players as Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, Willson Contreras, and veteran starting pitchers Sonny Gray, Lance Lynn, and Kyle Gibson might move this winter as the Cards cut payroll.
According to Roster Resource, St. Louis ranked 12th with its $183 million payroll this year and already has $111 million committed for 2025, $75 million for 2026, and $39 million for 2027.
Goldschmidt, 37, is a free agent this fall, while the team holds $12 million options on both Gibson and Lynn. If those options are not exercised, each pitcher would get a $1 million buyout.
Gray could go too, according to Katie Woo of The Athletic, although his value at age 35 might not bring enough of the young talent the Cardinals need.
A complicating factor is his no-trade clause, which might also mitigate efforts to unload Arenado and Contreras.
But all three are on the wrong side of 30 and only Gray delivered as advertised.
Both The Athletic and USA TODAY have indicated that the Cards now plan to spend more on their farm system than on high-priced free agents, hopefully laying the groundwork for sustained excellence.
Bloom, given a five-year contract at undisclosed terms, now has a year to ease the transition in his role as adviser to Mozeliak. Most recently, he was president of baseball operations for the Boston Red Sox.
Once a perennial post-season presence, the Cards have hit a rough patch lately, finishing out of the running in successive seasons. They missed the playoffs five times from 2016-24 and nine times since 2000, without consecutive losing seasons since 1994-95.
Just two years ago, they were NL Central champions with a 93-69 record.
Goldschmidt, the Face of the Franchise, was National League MVP in 2013 but his batting average and home run totals have decreased three years in a row. He earned $26,000,000 this year as his contract with the Cardinals expired.
Arenado earned even more – at at an annual average of $30,555,556, he’s the highest-paid player on the St. Louis roster, according to Roster Resource.
But any club that acquires the slick-fielding third baseman would be responsible for the remaining three years and $74 million left on his contract, originally signed with the Colorado Rockies. That team is covering $5 million per annum on the Arenado deal.
Contreras is right up there too, with $54.5MM due over the next three seasons. His once-awful defense behind the plate has improved but his bat remains his calling card. Plus he’s just 32, a relative youngster in Cardinal red.
With almost all teams clamoring for pitching help, Gray could bring a bounty. He led the Cards with 13 wins and 203 strikeouts while making 28 starts, four behind team leader Miles Mikolas and two behind Gibson.
But the team’s best pitcher in 2024 was closer Ryan Helsley, who led the major leagues with 49 saves.
Helsley, 30, is arbitration eligible after taking home a $3.8MM salary this season so a hefty raise – perhaps more than double his current salary – could be right around the corner.
He’ll become a free agent after next season, so the Cards could consider moving him this winter or waiting until the mid-season trade deadline next July.
With so many players on the bubble, Bloom has lots of homework to do in the year before he becomes the chief Cardinal.
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