Let the kids play: The St. Louis Cardinals will not tank in 2025

The St. Louis Cardinals may not be rebuilding after all. Yes, payroll will go down in 2025, but there may be a good reason for that. And no, the Cardinals aren't punting on the 2025 season. Maybe they won't be as aggressive to contend for a postseason spot as they have in years past, but they're finally committing to something that was long overdue. They're letting the kids play.

As reported by Katie Woo of the Athletic (subscription required), Cardinals president John Mozeliak stated at the recent GM meetings, “Our team is not going to look all that different” and "We are going to find pathways to give our younger players a chance to play and see what they can do."

While in previous seasons, they may have targeted specific free agents to upgrade at their weakest positions, the Cardinals instead want to give opportunities to young players who struggled in 2024 rather than giving them less playing time while trying to field the best possible team. Nolan Gorman, Victor Scott II, and Jordan Walker immediately come to mind as Cardinals who could show massive improvements in 2025 if given proper playing time.

It seems like the Cardinals are learning from past mistakes, moving on from young and promising talent far too early only to let them flourish in their new environments. The cries of Adolis Garcia, Randy Arozarena, Lane Thomas, and many others grow tiresome, but these are all valid frustrations as the Cardinals have simply failed to develop their own homegrown talent recently.

And it's true. The 2025 team won't look much different from the 2024 team. Paul Goldschmidt is replaced by Willson Contreras at first base, and Nolan Arenado could possibly be supplanted by Brendan Donovan or Thomas Saggese at third, but is that really a huge loss? Contreras, the best hitter on the team, playing first base opens up the door for Ivan Herrera to catch every day, and Donovan was better than Arenado in 2024 by nearly every offensive metric. The Cardinals finished 83-79 with a horrid offense, so there's a world where they are in contention in 2025 as well.

For those concerned about veteran leadership, neither Goldschmidt nor Arenado were particularly vocal leaders in the clubhouse. With Brendan Donovan emerging as a voice for younger players and the fiery attitude of Willson Contreras, adding another bench bat such as Matt Carpenter might be enough to steady the ship for the young guns to find and maintain success.

If Nolan Gorman and Jordan Walker can replicate even some of the offensive firepower they had in 2023 and if Victor Scott II can capture any of the magic he showed in the second half of 2024, the Cardinals lineup could be much more dangerous in 2025. With all the pressure off and the young players given full permission to struggle, there could be magic brewing in St. Louis once again. Sonny Gray certainly isn't a Tarik Skubal-caliber ace, but the Cardinals have enough talent to pull off a Tigers-style breakout next season. Don't count on it, but it's in the range of outcomes.