As the Cardinals seek gaining an edge, they may already have one that opponents envy

One of the things that Chaim Bloom has been preaching since taking over the St. Louis Cardinals has been the need to both catch up with the industry in a number of areas, as well as develop their own edges so that they can be the ones setting the standard around the game.

Bloom was asked this weekend what it looks like to start developing those edges, and while he was clear that they still have room to grow in that process, other conversations he had with players this weekend may have added more weight to the idea that the Cardinals have already developed an edge that players and opposing teams are beginning to envy.

The Cardinals ability to keep pitchers healthy is a unique edge that players around the league are taking note of.

Throughout Winter Warm-Up, multiple pitchers were asked about the Cardinals' ability to keep pitchers healthy and whether or not that is something players notice, and if it seems to be more than just "luck" that they haven't been wrecked with arm injuries at the Major League level like other clubs.

"Yeah, absolutely," reliever Andre Granillo said when asked if the Cardinals' ability to keep arms healthy is something players talk about. "I think a lot of the guys, when they get Rule 5'd over here, things that they do differently. Yeah, we talk throughout the clubhouse about what we do differently here and what they do better over in other organizations, and what we do better. The staff is amazing here. The guys, they want to take care of you. You don't ever feel like you go into there and you're bothering them. They're going up to you and like, "Hey, anything I can do for you?" Like, it's awesome. It's a good feeling."

Granillo later joked about how, typically, injuries are one of the ways that guys get opportunities in the big leagues, but no one was getting hurt. Obviously, no one wished injuries on anyone, but it did create a unique situation for St. Louis to balance innings and appearances for arms.

Newly acquired starter Richard Fitts also noted that the Cardinals' ability to keep arms was something he was excited about as he entered the organization.

I asked Dustin May, who the Cardinals signed this offseason and has experienced a long list of injuries in his career, if that is something that played into his decision to come to St. Louis, and he was clear that it was a major part of their discussions.

"Yeah, absolutely," May stated when asked about whether or not the Cardinals' track record with keeping arms healthy factored into his free agent decision. "That was definitely something whenever I was going through the process and talking with teams and going through processes on how they do that type of stuff. The Cardinals team, they really made that a huge effort to push forward that like, "Hey, we have a pretty good track record of this," and I was very excited for that."

May even indicated that the Cardinals brought their training staff into their first call and made it clear that they had a plan to help him remain healthy and on the mound.

Oliver Marmol spoke a bit to this as well during his media availability, discussing how their usage of a six-man rotation early in 2025 and the conservative nature of how they limited pitch counts and usage of some arms during various points of the year was a strategic effort to keep their group as healthy as possible. Marmol also acknowledged how much luck plays a factor in this, but this was a priority internally. It's also worth noting that the Cardinals' pitching staff was very healthy compared to the rest of baseball in 2024 as well.

Now, we should definitely point out that the Cardinals didn't crack that code in the minor leagues last year, as a number of their top pitching prospects dealt season-ending injuries or nagging issues that impacted their seasons. That may be part of the reason that Adam Olsen, who was elevated to Director of Medical Operations this offseason, a role that will allow Olsen to oversee the training staff from an organization-wide approach, rather than just in the major league dugout.

Injuries are a part of baseball, so it would be foolish to believe the Cardinals cracked some kind of code that allows them to keep Major League arms virtually unbreakable, but this is an area that they could revolutionize the game if they have indeed found an edge. And if this trend continues, other clubs will be looking to replicate what the Cardinals are doing, something we haven't been able to say in quite some time.