5 biggest storylines to watch as the St. Louis Cardinals begin spring training

As pitchers and catchers officially report to Jupiter, Florida for the beginning of spring training, the St. Louis Cardinals find themselves in an unfamiliar position this camp.

Last year, the Cardinals reported to Florida looking to rebound from a disastrous 2023 campaign, one of the worst in franchise history. This year? They want to be competitive, but clearly the expectations have shifted for this storied organization.

Chaim Bloom is set to take over as president of baseball operations following the 2025 campaign, so John Mozeliak's last ride in charge of the baseball decisions has been about cutting costs and prioritizing young talent (well, mostly).

That created an awkward tension all offseason that ended up resulting in virtually no movement with the roster. Sure, some veterans walked in free agency, but trades were not made, free agents were not signed, and outside of some moves around the edges of the 40-man roster or non-roster invites, the Cardinals have been silent.

Cardinals fans have every right to be frustrated with the organization right now. We've talked about that plenty on the site. But now as camp begins, I want to at least shift a little bit of our focus to what we should be keeping our eyes on as camp begins. No, it's not an excuse for the offseason or brushing past it, but I do want to start talking about what is actually happing on the field now that camp is here.

But first, let's address that elephant in the room that John Mozeliak has alluded to all offseason.

1. Will Nolan Arenado remain a member of the St. Louis Cardinals after all?

At this point, it's anyone's guess as to what will happen with Arenado. Will he be the Cardinals' starting third baseman in 2025? Or will the club finally fight the right deal to ship him out to a contender (that he'll actually approve)?

That's the ($74) million-dollar question. Arenado's presence dramatically impacts the status of young talent they want to platform, while also creating a lingering narrative that the club will have to navigate for the season.

Arenado has not reported to Jupiter yet, which is not shocking considering he is not required to yet. The Cardinals have stated they expect Arenado to be in camp and full steam ahead if he is not traded, but honestly, who knows what to believe at this point with this situation. Both sides would love to get a deal done soon, so perhaps once Bregman signs, both sides will get their wish.

But for now, the plot thickens and lingers on. Let's not focus on that too long though, as there are other things happening in Jupiter that are worth our attention.

2. Can Chaim Bloom and Brant Brown help the Cardinals' young bats regain their promise?

I stated on our spring training preview episode on the Dealin' the Cards podcast this week that the development of the Cardinals' young bats is the number one storyline both in camp and throughout the entirety of the 2025 season, and I cannot be convinced otherwise.

Yes, the young pitching will be a big deal. I think you could actually argue though that 2026 will be more the "year of the pitcher" for St. Louis than 2025. But this year? They have to figure out what they have in Jordan Walker, Nolan Gorman, Lars Nootbaar, Ivan Herrera, Alec Burleson, Victor Scott II, Thomas Saggese, and others who will enter that mix.

I think it is safe to say that Masyn Winn and Brendan Donovan have solidified themselves as members of the Cardinals' core for a long time. Winn had an excellent rookie campaign that put him in some historic and elite company, while Donovan has continued to be a highly productive and versatile player who is a leader of this team.

But who will Gorman be in 2025? The guy who mashes home runs left and right and spends many months hitting like one of the best bats in baseball like he did in 2023? Or the guy who can't seem to hit a beach ball and was eventually relegated to Triple-A in 2024? Will Walker get back on track as one of the brightest young talents in the game or have his approach woes continue to hamper his development? Can Nootbaar stay on the field long enough to make good on his promise or will he spend far too much time on the injured list again?

Even outside of those primary names, the Cardinals need to know if Burleson is the guy he was in the first half last year or the second half, if Scott can hold his own at the plate if Herrera can handle the defensive responsibilities at catcher to get his bat in the lineup if Saggese can carve out a regular more, and we can even talk about other young position players outside of them.

One silver lining that has not been discussed much yet - look at the leaps the Boston Red Sox made in hitting development over Bloom's tenure. Yes, it will take time, but could some of those shifts begin to unlock the Cardinals' young talent at both the major league and minor league levels in 2025?

The immediate and long-term future of this team rests on the shoulders of their young bats. Last year they mostly faltered. Will 2025 be a different story?

3. Will offense or defense win the day at the Cardinals' two most important position battles during camp?

Defense wins championships...right? The Philadelphia Eagles sure made the case on the gridiron Sunday. Yet, when the offense is such a stark difference, does that lessen the benefit of said defense?

No, we aren't talking about football now. We are talking about how the Cardinals will handle center field and catcher this year on the diamond.

There are currently three major contenders for the center field role come Opening Day. First, the incumbent, Michael Siani, who played Gold Glove-level defense in 124 games for St. Louis in 2024...albeit hitting 26% below league average at the plate. Second, the speedy Victor Scott II, who has a ton of potential but was 60% below league average offensively during his rookie year. And third is the oft-injured Lars Nootbaar, who, despite not having the center field defense that those two have, boasted the fourth-best wRC+ on the team last year with a 114.

If Siani or Scott show they've made strides offensively in camp, they are likely the best options to man center. But if not, the best way to maximize this lineup would be to have Nootbaar out there, right?

A similar story is brewing with the catcher position. Pedro Pages clearly caught the eyes of the dugout for his ability to manage the pitching staff, but his offense was also well below league average (83 wRC+). Ivan Herrera, on the other hand, had 41 more plate appearances and posted a 127 wRC+, second-best on the team. Yes, we are all well aware of his issues throwing runners out, but I cannot fathom not playing him as the primary catcher.

Maybe the Cardinals split the difference and opt for offense in one area and defense in the other. Maybe they shock us by playing their most promising bats at both spots. Or they just roll with the defensive first guys again and hope it works out for them in the end.

How Oliver Marmol handles these situations this spring will say a lot about the direction of this team.

4. How will the Cardinals provide opportunties for young starting pitchers?

Sonny Gray, Erick Fedde, Andre Pallante, Miles Mikolas, and Steven Matz are set to lead the Cardinals' rotation in 2025. Only Pallante (26) is below 30 years old, and yet, this is supposed to be a youth movement?

There are already rumblings that the Cardinals could consider a six-man rotation in 2025, something multiple clubs around baseball have actually planned a move towards. That could be a way to create opportunity early on for someone like Michael McGreevy in the rotation, but as soon as a few weeks from now, there may be a lot more arms who prove worthy of consideration.

McGreevy is in pole position to take the sixth rotation spot or replace someone in the five-man rotation if needed, but names like Matthew Liberatore and Zack Thompson want cracks at starting again. Top prospects like Quinn Mathews and Tink Hence could follow soon. Other arms in the minors like Sem Robberse, Gordon Graceffo, Cooper Hjerpe, Tekoah Roby, Drew Rom, and more may make their own cases as well.

Injuries will likely create that space, but banking on that as the way to create opportunity is an odd strategy considering how they prioritized youth in the position player core. The Cardinals may surprise us here soon and create more opportunities by moving on from veteran arms, but my assumption is they will not be doing that.

How they actually pull off creating starts for young arms will be fascinating to watch. Doing so will jumpstart this "reset" by getting information on those arms while failing to do so leaves them in the same spot with the pitching this coming offseason as they are with the position player core - unclear on who is truly a part of the core.

5. Is 2025 the year of many relievers?

Even if the Cardinals do create more spots in their rotation, there'll still be names without a chair when the music stops. Some of those arms will end up in Memphis to start games down there, while others could find themselves a part of the Cardinals' bullpen mix.

Any of those ten arms I mentioned above could get chances out of the bullpen this year. While some names like Mathews and McGreevy feel like odd candidates for such roles (namely because they should be prepping to start no matter what), other names in that mix could get important development time in those spots.

Take Graceffo for example, a guy who hasn't quite found his footing as a starter as of late, but his stuff could profile up out of the bullpen. It doesn't mean he would start forever, but maybe this is where he provides value in 2025 (like Liberatore in 2024).

Or look at prospects like Hence, Hjerpe, or Roby, all of which have had durability issues thus far, and while all three should be positioned to start long-term, maybe they break into the Cardinals' bullpen at different times this year to get looks at big league hitting.

Outside of Ryan Helsley, JoJo Romero, and Ryan Fernandez, there are five spots in the bullpen that seem up for grabs for those names and more. John King, Kyle Leahy, and Chris Roycroft are going to want cracks as well. What about Ryan Loutos, Matt Svanson, Andre Granillo, or Riley O'Brien, guys who have been with the organization and are looking for their own sustained looks? Newcomers like Nick Anderson, Bailey Horn, Zack Weiss, Rob Kaminksy (well, a returning friend), and others who could factor in.

Like the rotation, there are plenty of relievers the Cardinals could turn to in 2025. As we see each year, the opening day group is not going to be the group all year. The "Memphis Shuttle" should be busy this year, and many arms are going to get shots to earn the trust of Marmol.

Could any of them impress and gain significant, high-leverage roles like Fernandez last year? Or will any flame out like a Nick Robertson did? Only time will tell!