Where the St. Louis Cardinals rank among MLB most valuable teams

The St. Louis Cardinals rank in the Top 10 among MLB most valuable teams and figure to get higher in future seasons.

The St. Louis Cardinals are an iconic franchise. Their logo is recognizable among all baseball fans and their organizational history, which includes World Series championships and historic players such as Yadier Molina, Albert Pujols and Adam Wainwright, have helped them sustain a prolonged period of success.

But where do they rank among MLBs most valuable teams?

MLB Trade Rumors recently compiled a list of the most valuable MLB franchises and the Cardinals come in at No. 9 with a $2.4 billion evaluation. The only teams ahead of them are the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, New York Mets, Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Angels.

Among NL Central teams, that puts them in second. The Milwaukee Brewers are No. 20, the Cincinnati Reds are No. 23 and the Pittsburgh Pirates are No. 27.

It puts the Cardinals slightly higher than the league average of $2.31 billion, which is 5% higher than last season, and also throws cold water on any owner’s claim that owning a franchise is not profitable. In fact, Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. is among those people, and when he opened up about it in years past he got crushed by both fans and media.

With such a talented roster, the Cardinals are going to sell tickets, jerseys and memorabilia at a much higher level than other teams. It will only make them more valuable and, as a result, could result in them climbing up the ranks in future years.

Which will mean more money in DeWitt’s pockets, which should in theory lead to more spending on the major-league roster. Which makes both owner, players and fans happy – and what should help the Cardinals continue to sustain their long period of success.