3 highs and 3 lows of the Cardinals' offseason

The St. Louis Cardinals team and front office have put the fanbase on an emotional rollercoaster this offseason. After an abysmal season, some fans had hope that it would get better while others believed the 2023 season was a sign of things to come for the franchise. Regardless of where you started in your offseason disposition, there were several moments that offered fans rays of hope and others that provided reason for sorrow.

Plenty of changes occurred this offseason in St. Louis; from players on the field to coaches in the dugout, to those wearing suits in the offices, new faces abound for the 2024 team. Some of these moves provided solace and joy for fans while others wrought pain and disaster among the loyal St. Louis fans.

I am a forever optimist, sometimes to a fault; I believe in the organization that has one of the best-winning percentages in baseball since the turn of the century. While some of these moves may have seemed disappointing at the time, I hold out hope that the front office knew what they were doing with each move.

Here are 3 times this offseason in which Cardinal fans experienced moments of emotional jubilation and 3 moments where spirits were crushed.

High moment #1: The St. Louis Cardinals sign Sonny Gray.

After back-to-back seasons without a pitcher in the top 20 of fWAR in a season, the Cardinals were desperate for an ace to lead the staff. By signing Sonny Gray, they not only got an on-field ace but also an off-field leader. Gray, 34, finished in second place last year in American League Cy Young voting.

Fans were ecstatic when news dropped regarding Gray's signing. Though it had been hinted at all offseason, to see a deal come to fruition elated the fanbase. The fact that Gray was willing to defer millions of dollars to maintain financial flexibility in 2024 only added to the allure of the deal.

With a newfound ace, the starting rotation was much better off. Had the Cardinals missed out on Sonny Gray and instead settled for a player like Eduardo Rodriguez or Marcus Stroman, fans would have been rightly frustrated with the front office.

Surely, nothing could go wrong with their ace, right?

Low moment #1: Sonny Gray has a setback due to a hamstring injury.

The bliss that Sonny Gray's signing brought fans could only be matched by the misery that was felt when he experienced hamstring discomfort in the middle of spring training. Sonny Gray had a history of hamstring injuries, and while only one shut him down for multiple weeks at a time, the large leg muscle is still nothing to mess around with.

Cardinal fans held their collective breath as news regarding Gray's MRI was being processed. For a 24-hour period, there was the possibility that Sonny Gray could be out for months with a torn hamstring. There was an equal probability that he would simply miss the first few weeks of the season. Either way, his spring ramp-up was in jeopardy, and the presumptive Opening Day starter was no more.

Fans were distraught at their ace's injury. Calls for Jordan Montgomery, Blake Snell, Dylan Cease, Shane Bieber, any one of the Marlins' or Mariners' starters, and even Zack Greinke were shouted into the void. Management was patient, however. Rather than make a brash move to fill a spot in the rotation that may not be vacant for long, John Mozeliak and Oli Marmol instead opted to let Zack Thompson and Matthew Liberatore duke it out for spot starts to begin the season.

Recent reports have indicated that Gray's injury isn't as serious as once thought. While he won't be the Opening Day starter, there is still a chance he is ready to pitch in one game during the team's inaugural road trip out west.

Sorrow was palpable across Cardinal Nation when news of Gray's injury dropped. Luckily, a sigh of relief can also be felt knowing their new ace won't be out for long.

High moment #2: The Cardinals bring in an outside voice in Chaim Bloom.

The Cardinal Way has preached promotion from within for decades. Whether it be a succession plan from Tony La Russa to a former player in Mike Matheny, to a long-time manager in the system in Mike Shildt, to a former player and organizational fixture in Oliver Marmol, or front office staff members who have been integrated with the franchise for decades, on-field and off-field personality has bled Cardinal red for years.

This progression of leadership had started to become stale, however. The "Cardinal Way" appeared to be primitive. Organizations like Houston, Tampa Bay, Los Angeles, and Atlanta had passed the Cardinals. The minor leagues weren't producing stars anymore, and instead of churning out mid-rotation starters, the Cardinals had to sign injury-prone veterans to exorbitant contracts, only putting a stranglehold on the team's financial abilities.

A change in organizational vision was necessary. Enter Chaim Bloom. The long-time executive spent years as a President of Baseball Operations for both the Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox. He was able to build a factory in Tampa Bay that produced high-end starting pitchers on the regular. In Boston, Bloom orchestrated a sell-off of talent at the request of ownership. The Red Sox consistently operated at or near the top of payroll charts, and the owners wanted to suppress spending.

Despite being virtually forced to trade away star Mookie Betts and let Xander Bogaerts test the open market, Bloom was still able to lead the Red Sox to relative success between 2020 and 2023. The 2021 team reached the American League Championship Series, and the franchise had a 267-262 record under his leadership.

Bloom is a welcome outside voice, and his ability to develop pitchers should help the Cardinals. While his impact won't be felt immediately, pitchers such as Tink Hence, Tekoah Roby, and Cooper Hjerpe are better off in their development with Bloom in the front office.

Low moment #2: The Los Angeles Dodgers sign everyone.

To some owners in baseball, money is but an object. While organizations like the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Philadelphia Phillies have been able to spend with reckless abandon in recent years, other teams such as the Cleveland Guardians, Pittsburgh Pirates, and St. Louis Cardinals (to an extent) are unable to match the payrolls of teams from major cities.

This isn't to say owners of these teams CAN'T spend more money to upgrade their teams--there is in fact a strong argument that they should--but rather major market teams are able to spend so much money due to the revenues they accrue. The Dodgers and Yankees have insane TV deals that give them significantly more financial flexibility than teams who are currently in the dark about their TV deals.

The Dodgers signing Shohei Ohtani to an "unprecedented" contract alone was enough to deflate fanbases across the country. What added insult to injury was the fact that the Wicked Witch of the West was able to spend $325 million on Yoshinobu as well. Between those two contracts alone, Mark Walter spent $1 billion, more than the payrolls of the bottom 16 teams in the league combined.

Cardinal fans may have felt the most pain from the Yoshinobu Yamamoto signing. International star Lars Nootbaar seemed to be dedicating as much time this offseason luring the NPB All-Star to St. Louis than he did preparing for the 2024 season himself. Images surfaced of the two, plus Nolan Arenado, spending time together in Japan, golfing stateside, and dining at fine restaurants all offseason. Cardinal fans were certain the righty from Japan would sign with the Cardinals.

When reports started to surface that Yamamoto would command a contract well above $200 million, St. Louis fans started losing hope. His signing with the Dodgers for more than $300 million was devastating to a fanbase desperate for a high-end starting pitcher.

Low moment #3: The Cardinals extend Oliver Marmol through 2026.

Let me preface this argument by saying that I am actually in favor of the team extending Oli Marmol. While I would have preferred it to happen after some success this season, I'm not against the reasoning for the extension to occur before the season starts. After a 93-win season in 2022 and a 91-loss season in 2023, the 37-year-old manager was granted two additional years to lead the Cardinals.

Fans, however, took a different approach to the news. Vitriol was prevalent on social media after news spread of Marmol's extension. Why would a team grant a manager with a .506 winning percentage two additional years to lead the team? Marmol has yet to even win a playoff game let alone a series. He was hired in the first place with a lack of experience; he wasn't ready for the role out of the gate.

A two-year extension keeps Marmol at the helm until 2026. There is still the possibility that he is fired at some point; Mike Matheny was fired in June of 2018 after receiving an extension after the 2016 season. If the team underperforms out of the gate again, Marmol's seat heats up once again.

There was plenty of optimism that someone like Yadier Molina or even Albert Pujols would manage the Cardinals should Marmol be fired. An extension for the incumbent Marmol shows that the front office didn't believe either player, particularly Molina, had immediate interest in managing the Cardinals.

President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak spoke highly in support of Marmol during the press conference announcing his extension. "I've always had a lot of confidence in Oli," Mozeliak stated in an interview with The Athletic. "I never doubted he was the right person for this job. But I also thought of all the things we needed to get done right away. This (extension) was something we could deal with later."

For many fans, the extension of Oliver Marmol was the low point in an offseason filled with disappointments. A desire to see Yadi back in the dugout but as a manager was great among the Cardinal faithful. An extension to a controversial manager darkened those visions.