6 questions the St. Louis Cardinals must answer in 2025

The St. Louis Cardinals made their final roster decision as the team gets ready to open up their 2025 season on Thursday against the Minnesota Twins. The Opening Day roster featured some surprising decisions that cleared up playing for some players while putting others in a precarious spot heading into the new campaign. These choices created more questions that the Cardinals must now answer during the season as they progress toward a new leadership.

As the organization looks to hand over the reins to Chaim Bloom after the season, the team looks to a mixed group of veterans and youngsters who are all looking to prove their worth to the Cardinals or other organizations who may desire their services. After John Mozeliak recently admitted that player development has been "stuck in the mud," the team made some uncharacteristic decisions to finalize their 26-man roster.

6 questions the Cardinals are going to have to answer during the 2025 season

1. What do the Cardinals expect from their veteran pitchers?

After Sonny Gray dismissed any trade desires early in the offseason, it was clear that he would be the team's Opening Day starter and de facto number one (notice I did not say "ace") option in the rotation. Even with his problems with the home run ball and a mysteriously unannounced injury, Gray should be counted on to lead the staff.

Even if he wanted to be moved, Miles Mikolas might have had a hard time finding a suitor better than the Cardinals. They have continuously shown their faith in their inning-eater and look ready to give him the ball another 30 times this season. Along with Mikolas, Erick Fedde seemed like a player likely to be pitching elsewhere in 2025, but, for the time being, he is going to be stuck in St. Louis. The fourth and fifth spots in the rotation were seemingly up for grabs, as the final decision on these spots was not made official until the very last day in Jupiter. Andre Pallante, who saved the rotation last season, looks to build off his strong debut season as a starter and will have to show he can shake off a few tough Grapefruit League outings.

And the fifth starter to open the season? Matthew Liberatore, who almost nobody thought would have a legitimate shot to crack the already crowded rotation after putting together a solid resume as a reliever. The announced potential for a six-man rotation figured to be between veteran Steven Matz and rookie standout Michael McGreevy, but it turns out neither of them will be the top options to start the season. Matz will be a long man out of the bullpen and be available if and when the aforementioned sixth man is needed, and McGreevy will look to stay sharp in Memphis.

So what do these decisions mean for the St. Louis Cardinals heading into the 2025 season? Well, first, they must expect Sonny Gray to be healthy with Mikolas and Fedde ready to shoulder plenty of innings. Pallante zoomed past his previous career high in innings last season and must prove he can handle a full season of starts. For Liberatore, he now enters a huge year for his career. Once a top starting pitcher prospect, Libby has been moved back and forth countless times between the rotation and bullpen and will now get the opportunity to show he can make good on that potential.

The flexibility of both Matz and McGreevy creates interesting opportunities for the Cardinals to change course when needed. Along with McGreevy, they have starting options Quinn Mathews, Tink Hence, and Gordon Graceffo all awaiting their call-up. If the Cardinals fall out of contention and ship out one of their veterans or face an early injury, any of those pitchers can slot directly into the rotation without having to build back up to a starter's workload.

The big answer to this question will depend on what the Cardinals truly plan to accomplish this season. In a reset-turned transition, the organization is leaving room to have expectations of being competitive while also hoping their veterans can pitch their way into enough value to warrant a solid prospect return. If they plan to compete in the weak NL Central, their veteran staff could be a difference-maker.

2. How will Alec Burleson get the at-bats he deserves with Nolan Gorman also receiving the playing time he was promised?

Whether this says more about the 2024 Cardinals or Alec Burleson's ability with the bat, the fact remains true: Burleson is a quality Major League hitter. Last season, he led the team with 78 RBIs and was second in homers behind former MVP Paul Goldschmidt. Burleson's season was made up of two completely different halves. The lefty had 17 homers and 53 RBIs at the All-Star Break and was accompanied by an encouraging batting average (.288) and OPS (.814). The second half, however, was unkind, as he was sapped of all power, putting up a .626 OPS and only 10 extra-base hits. What remained consistent was his ability to put the ball in play. Burleson only struck out 12.8% of the time and went down on strikes just 76 times throughout the year while remaining above league average in expected batting average, hard-hit percentage, and squared-up rate. Where Burleson needs to show improvement, though, is in his ability to hit off of left-handed pitchers and be more patient for his pitch at the plate.

Against lefties, Burleson hit .195 with three homers, and these struggles moved him from an everyday starter to a strict platoon bat. It is interesting to note that in 2024, Burleson had a higher average against southpaws, albeit in a limited sample size. During his breakout year in the minors in 2022, Burly hit an outstanding .325 against lefties and showed decent power with a .437 OPS against them. While the expected DH handles the bat well, he could see an improvement in his overall numbers if he were more patient at the plate. Burleson has a below-average walk rate and a high chase rate in his career and that extends to his time in the minors. If he can stand to be a little more patient and attack pitches in the zone, Burleson could see his power numbers increase without too much of a detriment to his strikeout numbers.

Speaking of strikeouts, Nolan Gorman enters into quite a predicament in 2025 after the final roster was announced. When Nolan Arenado was expected to be traded, Gorman planned to shift over to third base and take advantage of his natural position and the team planning to give him 500 at-bats to prove himself. This expected runway gave him early accolades as a breakout hitter to watch since he flashed 30-home run power and will be playing this season at 25 years old. When Arenado ended up staying put, this meant Gorman was now going back to second base, the position where he's made the majority of his MLB appearances since his debut season and has shown a vast improvement defensively.

Gorman's issue has always been his ability to put the ball in play, striking out close to or above 30% of the time every year since turning professional, including an astounding 37.6% rate in 2024. Even with those numbers, Gorman has shown power potential with 27 homers during the 2023 season and was graded with 70-grade future raw power as a prospect.

Gorman showed improvements during a short spring training but now may be looking at an awkward share of at-bats with Burleson. The team's decision to keep Victor Scott II on the roster and name him the everyday center fielder has a trickle-down effect that reaches down to the other two players. If the Cardinals want to hold true to their 500 at-bat promise, Gorman will have to play every day either at second base or as the designated hitter. Since Gorm and Burly are both lefties, there is no real platoon option for them, and the latter is defensively limited in a crowded outfield, so his at-bats were expected to be as the everyday DH. If Gorman were to play second, that would put Brendan Donovan into a rover role since Lars Nootbaar will be in left and Jordan Walker was promised the same opportunity as Gorman. Further down the roster, VSII's addition and the other necessary roster finagling soaks up every other at-bat from Luken Baker, whose great spring earned him a spot on the 26-man configuration.

Manager Oli Marmol is going to have to do plenty of juggling in 2025 if the team is truly going to get an answer on the offensive potential of Gorman and Burleson. Maybe the runway is not going to be as long as we originally anticipated.

3. Will Brendan Donovan ever find a defensive home?

If anyone knows how to deal with defensive uncertainty, it is former utility Gold Glove Award winner Brendan Donovan. As with Gorman, Donovan's outlook relied on the team's decision to keep Arenado on the roster. With a trade, Donnie would play second, but without it, he would move back to left field on a near-daily basis. This continued to be the thought through the spring until Scott's explosive stretch made him the starting center fielder. Nootbaar and Walker again round out the outfield. So when and where will Donnie play? That's why Marmol gets paid to make decisions and we pay to watch the game.

As of this moment, I would expect to see Donovan in the Opening Day lineup as the second baseman with Gorman getting the start at designated hitter, leaving Burleson and Baker on the bench. If Gorman cannot take advantage of the organization's faith in him quickly, either of the other two could supplant him in the DH role and allow Donovan to settle in at the keystone, where he has been a near-average defender. With a consistent spot, however, there is little reason to think that Donovan would not be able to improve his defensive performance. After Donovan fought through elbow pain during the 2023 season, the Cardinals' poor record allowed him to cut his season short and have surgery on the troublesome joint and give him enough time to fully recover for the next year. His average throwing velocity fell over four miles per hour during 2024 as he played most of his innings in the outfield in an attempt to take the stress of more throws out of the equation. Now two years removed from the surgery, his arm strength may be worth monitoring, whether he is in the infield dirt or the outfield grass.

No matter where Donovan plays, his track record shows he needs to be in the lineup as much as possible. At this point in his career, Donovan is a career. 280 hitter while demonstrating elite plate coverage with a 14% strikeout rate and 10% walk rate. While he also struggles against lefties, his splits are nowhere near as drastic as Burleson's. Donovan has the added value of being a leader in the clubhouse and on the field. Even with a lack of home run power, the utility man finished second on the team in RBIs to Burleson and was 12th in the NL with 34 doubles. He did show increased power in his shortened 2023 season, hitting 11 homers before his surgery ended his season after 95 games. Last year's 13 long balls were his career high at any level, so he may be approaching his home run ceiling.

While Donovan is probably not affected by the constant shuffling on defense, it is fair to wonder if he could unlock another gear offensively without having to juggle so many gloves. Now with a crowded outfield and promised at-bats elsewhere, it will take even more moving around for Donovan to keep his necessary playing time. Without a true backup shortstop on the roster, Donovan will also be Masyn Winn's relief option but Winn played in 150 games in 2024 so a backup shortstop was not a huge area of need for Marmol.

4. Will the Cardinals finally receive their answer at catcher?

This question was not likely to be answered regardless of what happened this Spring Training. After Willson Contreras was announced as the team's first baseman going forward, Ivan Herrera and Pedro Pages were expected to start the 2025 season in St. Louis. The two catchers saw pretty equal playing time last year and demonstrated their different strengths. Herrera was always projected to be a quality hitter and he certainly was during his 72 games with the Cardinals. If he had enough at-bats to qualify, he would have easily led the team in batting average (.301) and been second on the team to Contreras with a 124 OPS+.

The catcher from Panama had a massive issue controlling the running game, throwing out only 6.8% of base stealers which he attributed to arm issues. He spent this past offseason at Driveline, who typically works with pitchers, to bolster his arm health. Where Herrera struggled is where Pages succeeds. Pages has continually been rated as an above-average defensive catcher, and, while he did not quite reach that level in his rookie season, his 14 runners caught stealing was still a step up from Herrera. The 25-year-old from Florida Atlantic did hit seven homers last season but only put up a .657 OPS in his 202 at-bats.

Answering this question will depend on Marmol and management's preference for offense or defense behind the plate. What would make the decision easy, of course, would be either of these catchers significantly improving in their deficiency and taking hold of the daily spot. Herrera appears to be the one who is going to receive the majority of the starting nods to begin the year, but it may be closer to a 60-40 split of playing time with Pages. If Herrera's arm continues to be an issue behind the plate and pitchers prefer the receiving ability of Pages, then Marmol may opt for the backup if there is not a huge drop-off offensively.

The team has struggled to replace Yadier Molina since his departure in 2022, but even then, their catching development was not a priority, and they used that depth to their advantage on the trade market. The Cardinals have traditionally centered on strong defense behind the plate, but with the potential implementation of the ABS system, there may be less emphasis on receiving ability in the future. To fully take hold of the spot, then, Herrera will have to show a big jump in his arm strength.

Behind these two options are more players with potential. Jimmy Crooks is the team's number-four prospect and was featured in the Spring Breakout game. He will be competing with number-seven prospect Leonardo Bernal for the starting job at Triple-A Memphis. The 21-year-old Bernal was a standout this spring in limited appearances, hitting two homers in 13 at-bats. If either of these two puts up a massive performance in AAA, the Cardinals could again deal from their catching depth to address needs at another position depending on how the Major League club is performing at the time.

5. What does the outfield of the future look like?

If this question were asking about the outfield of today, that would be pretty straightforward. Lars Nootbaar, Victor Scott II, and Jordan Walker would fill out the three spots from left to right field. Nootbaar deserves to show what he is able to do when healthy because he has shown the ability to be an asset at the plate with great discipline and elite metrics. However, he will be playing the majority of this season as a 28-year-old who has yet to play over 117 games and may be running out of time to show his value to an organization that may finally be pushing towards younger players. Also complicating the matter is the presence of top prospect J.J. Wetherholt and another MLB-ready player in Thomas Saggese. How do infield prospects affect Noot? It goes back to Donovan and Gorman. If either of these two pushes the envelope for a call-up, that could again move Donnie back to the outfield and squeeze someone out. With Noot's age and injury history, the Cardinals could very well opt for youth all around the field. Former first-round pick and outfielder Chase Davis is also working his way through the minor league system.

A hopefully clear-cut spot would be in center field. If Victor Scott II can keep up his offensive outburst from spring training while continuing to flash his game-breaking speed, center field should be set for the future. The issue becomes less clear if he sees another downturn in production once the regular season begins. The Cardinals have shown a liking towards defensive stalwart Michael Siani, but his tepid bat does not bode well for a long-term solution in the outfield. Beyond Davis, the Cardinals' minor league system does not feature a lot of depth in the outfield, with 27-year-old Matt Koperniak, who mainly plays the corner spots, and another speed-oriented piece with Nathan Church. St. Louis would do well to target young outfielders in any additional moves that take place during the season.

In right field, Jordan Walker looks to make good on the organization's faith in his bat with his first normal offseason. Walker enters the year with the opportunity to seize the right field spot after finally facing clarity on his fit and position with the team. A rogue sprinkler set him back for about a week, so he may get some extended leeway once the season starts as he gets his timing down.

After Walker switched from third base to outfield and went up and down between Memphis and St. Louis, the 2025 season looks to be Walker's best chance at regular playing time and consistency from the start. If the big righty is unable to showcase his power potential and play average defense, the organization could be put in a tough spot. For one, Walker will only be 23 years old during the season and was once a top prospect, so there is still plenty of time for him to realize his potential. The Cardinals would hate to give up on another young outfielder before they receive their chance, so expect Walker to be out there every day regardless of performance. However, if the team sticks to their word and gives Walker a full season's worth of at-bats, he will be over 1,000 plate appearances for his Major League career, so they could also feel as if they gave him plenty of chances.

The entire outfield situation will be one to keep an eye on throughout the season. A lot of opportunity hinges on the organization holding true to their promises and allowing the young guys a legitimate chance to show their value.

6. What will Chaim Bloom be allowed to do during the 2025 season?

The final question may be one fans will never see the answer outright, or at minimum have to wait until the trade deadline to get an idea of what the team is thinking. John Mozeliak was clear in stating that this would be his last season as the President of Baseball Operations and that Chaim Bloom would be taking over once the 2025 campaign ends. This exciting yet awkward setup could make for some strange decision-making during the season. It is doubtful Mozeliak would want to go out at the very bottom of the division, and this could be evidenced by his unwillingness to trade quality players that could help the team compete this year.

Chaim Bloom took over for the Red Sox when they were at a crossroads similar to the one fans are seeing in St. Louis. His first decision was a tough one, as management forced his hands in trading all-world player Mookie Betts to the Dodgers for prospects in order to cut payroll. This unpopular move was out of Bloom's hands, and he helped revamp the Red Sox' minor league organization as one of the best in the league. The Red Sox enter the 2025 season with three of the top 12 prospects in all of Major League Baseball, and they are all expected to see some time in Boston this year.

Bloom would most likely love to get the transition started as soon as possible but Mozeliak's presence makes that unlikely to happen this year. I would guess that the only real possibility of a full-scale rebuild happening in 2025 is if the Cardinals were so far behind in the NL Central that not even Mozeliak could argue for keeping their high-priced veterans on the roster. If this were to happen, expect the Cardinals to deal from their pitching depth with Erick Fedde and Steven Matz possibly the first to go. Behind those two, it would be reasonable to take offers on closer Ryan Helsley and re-visit trade chatter for third baseman Nolan Arenado. It would help St. Louis' cause if all four of those players performed well enough to warrant a worthy return, but that kind of performance may also mean the team is in contention. The organization's neutral approach created more questions than answers for a team needing a real direction.

In the scenario where the return for those veterans is in cost savings rather than with prospects, Bloom's first offseason would be another uphill battle for the Cardinals to race back into contention. The NL Central continues to underwhelm, but the team has been unwilling to take advantage of the division standstill, and that would probably continue into next offseason. With an increase in resources put towards the minor leagues and player development, the organization would want to see if their investment pays off with their current young talent.

The roster decisions heading into the 2025 season were interesting on many levels and put more onto manager Oliver Marmol's plate in what could be a make-or-break season for him. Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina are both ready to take on big-league coaching gigs, so Marmol may be on the way out regardless of how the team performs.