The 2024-2025 Major League Baseball offseason has all but come and gone with nary a move by the St. Louis Cardinals. Sure, the Cardinals have made minor-league signings this winter, but the big moves -- trades and free agent signing -- have been noticeably absent.
We all knew this would be the case. At the club's end-of-the-year presser, both John Mozeliak and Bill DeWitt Jr. made it abundantly clear that this offseason would be unlike ones of the past where the club filled roster holes with free agents, swung major trades for veteran players and made strides in the goal of competing fully.
Improvements have been made to the roster; let's make that clear. Chaim Bloom has been busy adding to the organization's player development pipeline. Rob Cerfolio, a former director of player development for the Cleveland Guardians, is now the Cardinals' Assistant General Manager, Player Development and Performance. Shortly after Cerfolio's hiring, it was announced that Matt Pierpont, a former minor league pitching coordinator for the Seattle Mariners, would be the organization's new Director of Pitching.
Brant Brown will be the new hitting coach on Oli Marmol's staff, and former Cardinal Jon Jay will be an assistant coach with the major-league squad. Though Brown's Mariners weren't an offensive powerhouse last year, Cardinal players who have worked with him this offseason have spoken positively. Jon Jay, along with Daniel Descalso, will bring knowledge and strong playing resumes with them as coaches.
This wasn't the end of hirings off the field, though. Larry Day was announced as a Director of Player Development, Carl Kochan will be the club's Director of Performance, and several minor league coaches and instructors Ryan Barba, Jose Leger, Austin Meine, and Ethan Goforth.
At least one high-level executive for the Cardinals has been busy this winter. The same can't necessarily be said for John Mozeliak, though he is operating under restrictions imposed on him by ownership.
The offseason is a wonderful time for optimism. Fans can dream on the players that are on the roster. They can look at all of the videos of offseason work and hope that it will pan out during the regular season. However, for every ounce of optimism in a fanbase, there is an equal amount of chance. Things could go wrong just as easily as they could go right for teams in a 162-game marathon.
The Cardinals finished last year with an 83-79 record. They were 10 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers for the National League Central crown, but they finished only six games behind the New York Mets for a Wild Card berth. If just a few more games had gone their way, they could have snuck into the playoffs.
If the Cardinals want to see success in 2025 with by and large the same roster they fielded in 2024, several things must go right for them. Oliver Marmol is being given one more shot to lead the Cardinals to the playoffs, a place they haven't sniffed in two years. He will have his work cut out for him, but there is a small window where the Cardinals can return to their former glory, take the division, and hope Lady Luck smiles on them in the postseason.