5 small moves the Cardinals made that are leading to their turnaround in 2025

#4 - Hiring Jon Jay

For all of the talk about the Cardinals' offense this year, their improvements in the rotation, and the recent resurgence of their bullpen, there is one element of the team that is clearly the best in baseball and is leading to a lot of their success this year — the Cardinals' defense.

Through 49 games in 2025, the Cardinals lead all of baseball in outs above average with 24, with a 10-point gap between them and the teams tied for second place (the Braves and Astros). That wide of a gap in defensive performance from the top defense in baseball and the second-best is crazy, but that is what the Cardinals have been able to pull off so far.

The three primary defensive standouts so far for the Cardinals have been Arenado, Scott, and Winn, who all rank in the top 15 players in baseball in outs above average. Arenado and Scott are both tied for eighth overall among all defenders, with Arenado first among third basemen and Scott tied for third among all center fielders. Winn ranks 15th in outs above average and fifth among all shortstops.

Outside of those three, Contreras ranks fourth among all first basemen in outs above average in his first season at the position, Donovan is tied for second among all second basemen, Nootbaar is tied for third among all left fielders, and Walker is tied for sixth among all right fielders.

Walker's rise defensively is especially crazy, as he has been one of the worst defenders in all of baseball the last two years. Scott had the tools to be an elite defensive center fielder, but his routes and footwork needed a lot of work. Well, that's where Jon Jay has come in.

Jay, who was an outfielder with the Cardinals throughout the 2010s, was brought in by the Cardinals to help out in a number of roles, including working with their outfielders to improve their defense. He's helped transform Scott into a Gold Glove contender and Walker into an average or potentially better defensive outfielder, which has helped the Cardinals' defense go from pretty good last year to a weapon in 2025.

It's great to have Jay back in a Cardinals uniform, and I don't think it is a coincidence that his return, along with bench coach Daniel Descalso, has helped bring the Cardinals back to being the kind of club that does the little things right, plays defense at a high level, and runs the bases as well as anybody.

Even with only a few speedsters on their roster, the Cardinals are tied for ninth in baseball in "baserunning runs," a stat that measures how impactful a club is on the base paths when it comes to stealing bases and advancing when balls are in play.

Jay is a part of that resurgence as well, as the Cardinals ranked 19th in baseball in that category last year. Jay's hire may not have been a flashy move, but it's been so impactful for the club so far.