5 Cardinals who won't be back as 2025 rebuild begins

With a stunning announcement at the end of their season, the St. Louis Cardinals will spend this season rebuilding their player development department after a sharp decline in the department.

John Mozeliak, president of baseball operations, said the organization focused more on the major league roster and less on the minor league system. Unfortunately, the effort was unsuccessful, as the last two seasons have been the worst for the organization in decades. Meanwhile, the minor league system needed to catch up regarding the technology used to assist players. There was also a tremendous decline in the number of coaching personnel needed throughout the minor league system.

Chaim Bloom, who will take over as POBO at the end of the 2025 season, was placed in charge of retooling the player development system. He spent the last season as a consultant to Mozeliak as he tried to figure out what exactly was needed moving forward.

Over the coming weeks, fans should learn more about Bloom's plans and how they will affect the major league roster. There has been talk that the team will cut payroll to offset the spending necessary to fix the player development system.

Sonny Gray, Nolan Arenado, and Willson Contreras are the highest-paid players on the team, but each has a no-trade clause. It will be hard to move these players, so we should count on them sticking around.

Let's review who won't be back when the 2025 rebuild begins.