11 times the Cardinals allowed fear to drive poor decision-making under John Mozeliak

Fear-based decision #11 - Refusing to choose a lane during the 2024-2025 offseason

And now we get to the present day, where after a dissapointing 2024 campaign that saw the club miss the playoffs again, fans and media expected the organization to wave the white flag and begin to do the hard work of a rebuild or at least a one or two-year retool.

Nope. That's not what happened.

So the club doubled down and tried to win again in 2025? Well, not that either.

They just kinda did nothing. Well, they literally did nothing with their Major League roster until the very end of spring training when they signed Phil Maton.

Yes, the Cardinals did a ton of work behind the scenes to begin to set up the Chaim Bloom era and get the player development changes rolling. That is really important work that honestly matters more than probably any single transaction they could have made this offseason. But, with that being said, Mozeliak remaining in charge for one more season meant that there was a potential conflict of interest in terms of what is best for the organization this offseason, and instead of unloading valuable players to get prospects in return, the Cardinals held onto everyone except for impending free agents in hopes that they can "surprise people" in 2025.

While Cardinals fans cannot stand the state the organization found itself in at the end of the 2024 season and the years leading up to it, the fanbase desperately wanted a direction that was different than what they had before. Rebuilding is unacceptable in this city, but the fanbase is smart enough to know that it was a necessary route at this point. No, we aren't talking about a full-scale rebuild where the club trades literally everyone and tries to tank, but fans knew that trading guys like Willson Contreras, Sonny Gray, Nolan Arenado, Ryan Helsley, Erick Fedde, and Steven Matz would accelerate their chances at being good again in the future.

Contreras and Gray opted to stay, and they were unable to find a trade for Arenado that worked for both him and the club. But guess what? They didn't mean they had to hold onto those other guys, or even avoid reapproaching Contreras and Gray and letting them know that it is probably best for the club if they are traded.

Instead, the Cardinals, in classic fashion, didn't fully commit to what was needed. And once again, ding ding ding, you guessed it, fear drove that. Fear of crowds not packing Busch Stadium if their favorite players weren't there anymore. Fear that the club wouldn't start off well and tickets wouldn't be sold for their summer contests. Fear that Mozeliak, in his last year, would have to oversee the beginning stage of a rebuild rather than have a chance to go out on a high(?) note.

I guess we shouldn't surprised that the same regime that has allowed fear to guide their decisions for over a decade is once again doing so in the final days of their reign. Cardinals fans can look forward to different leadership in the near future, but it does not make this feel any better. This fanbase is tired of the mishaps they've witnessed and endured, and it is a shame that the front office and ownership allowed fear to once again win the day.

The Cardinals could be a pretty good baseball team this year. The offense has been dynamic thus far and the pitching has the ability to be better than it has performed to this point. But we all know this team cannot win a World Series this year, and frankly, they are going to have a really difficult time making the playoffs even if they do play well.

Being stuck in the middle is the worst place to be in baseball. Sonny Gray said it himself back at Winter Warm-Up. But that's where the Cardinals' front office and ownership chose to be this year, and it is a fitting end to this era of Cardinals' leadership.