7 areas of investments the Cardinals must make this winter

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Whether it is time or money, the St. Louis Cardinals must make some serious investments this offseason.

If the organization goes into this offseason remaining status quo, the fan base will be even more upset than it already is and the rest of the league will question just how serious the Cardinals are for the future.

The Cardinals have a very important offseason ahead of them. And that's an understatement. Let's discuss what investments the Cardinals should make this winter.

Player Development

The organization has announced Gary LaRocque, director of player development, is retiring effective at the end of this season. He has been the head of player development since 2008. This appears to be the first of many anticipated changes this offseason.

Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak will enter the final year of his contract. It is expected he will step back some, giving way for Chaim Bloom to show off his vision for the organization going forward. However, the retirement of LaRocque also raises the question of Bloom becoming a factor in the equation for the new director of player development. Bloom's background with the Tampa Bay Rays was in player development.

According to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch regarding Bloom and player development:

A lot will depend on the role that Chaim Bloom wants to play. That doesn't get mentioned enough in questions about him. What role does he want to have? This year, he did not want to be part of the day-to-day grind of ops and roster management. ... Is his calling more in the minor-league development role? That is a question the Cardinals will ask before moving forward with how their leadership looks through this offseason and into it. ... There is a chance if that is what Bloom prefers, what he seeks for his return to full-time baseball operations.

It would appear how the Cardinals proceed with Bloom should be taken care of early in the offseason as it seems many of their other plans could fall into place once he establishes the role he wants to take on.

Randy Flores is an assistant general manager within the organization and has played a huge role in the MLB Draft for the Cardinals. He could be another name in the hunt for the player development director.

Hitting coach staff

While some in the Cardinals lineup credit Turner Warner with helping them figure things out at the plate, a large number of Cardinals hitters seem to struggle to the extent they will seek outside assistance to get tips and tricks to unlock something at the plate.

Three of the organization's recent top-hitting prospects - Dylan Carlson, Nolan Gorman, and Jordan Walker - have been sent to AAA Memphis to get help at the plate after struggling at the plate. Carlson was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays at the trade deadline. Gorman was demoted to AAA Memphis for the second September in a row. Walker is currently back with St. Louis after two demotions earlier in the season.

It's frustrating to see talented young hitters fail to have success at bat. The team is not stacked with enough coaching and staff like other MLB teams.

The Cardinals must invest in adding and improving staffing for their hitting coach staff. This has been one area of need the organization must address to regain the success they are accustomed to having.

Pitching

In 2024 the Cardinals thought they had compiled a pitching staff to help them get through innings. As the team enters the final weeks of the season, teetering on the .500 mark, the Cardinals did not compile that needed starting rotation.

Sonny Gray was the expected ace. He started the season on the injured list, but while he had good starts, he struggled to be that needed ace. He remains with the team for two more seasons. Erick Fedde came to the Cardinals via trade. He can eat innings but hasn't been the starter the team hoped. He has one more season with the Cardinals. Andre Pallante worked to regain the title of starter this season and has been a real star every fifth day.

The rotation also includes Miles Mikolas, who has been terrible this season. He comes at the job with a lot of bravado that never adds up once he starts giving up hits and runs. Manager Oli Marmol seems to enjoy Mikolas's personality and the levity he brings to the team. If the Cardinals could move on from Mikolas, who does have a season remaining on his contract, they should do so.

Steven Matz returned from the injured list and has been a helpful addition. He has another season under contract with the Cardinals. If he can perform at or better than he has since his return that would be great.

The Cardinals also have options next season for Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson. Lynn had an excellent start this week after returning from the injured list. He had a decent season with the Cardinals, but the team should not pick up his option. Gibson, on the other hand, has been better than anticipated and the team should consider picking up his option as he is a fan and clubhouse favorite.

They also have some prospects who could crack the team out of spring training. Mike McGreevy had an outstanding start for the Cardinals in July. He was quickly sent back to AAA Memphis, but he should get another start this season just to show what the fans can expect from him. Gordan Graceffo, Cooper Hjerpe, Quinn Mathews, and Tink Hence could be other arms Cardinals fans can look forward to from the prospect pool.

The Cardinals must invest in more top-tier starting pitching and long-innings relief. The organization must get serious about effective pitching.

Catching

The role of back-up catcher has been very important for the Cardinals since the retirement of Yadier Molina. While Willson Contreras is a boost to the Cardinals line-up, he is injury-prone. It is important to have a backup for him. The Cardinals must decide if Ivan Herrera or Pedro Pages will be that guy moving forward.

Herrera and Pages are each used in Marmol's lineups. Each has their level of offense and defense they bring with Marmol choosing his catcher of the day based on matchups. Having three catchers on the roster is not ideal. This is a concern the team must address this offseason with a time commitment to finding the right person.

While Dusty Blake, the pitching staff, and Contreras will play a huge role in determining who gets the job, it would be excellent to see the organization make use of its agreement with Molina to help out the team. While he didn't show up during the season as anticipated, it would be great if he were to work with Contreras, Pages, and Herrera for some time to get his input and instruction.

Herrera was expected to be Molina's heir apparent, but for various reasons, the Cardinals decided to go a different direction by signing Contreras and allowing Andrew Knizer and Herrera to back up. Knizner was released after the 2023 season and signed elsewhere allowing Herrera to be the backup. The injury bug struck again allowing the Cardinals to take a chance on Pages which has proved beneficial.

The three catchers should have a busy offseason to get together, work on their areas of improvement, and get serious on the job.

The Top Prospects

As mentioned previously, it's not a great look for the organization to have two of their top prospects shuffled between St. Louis and AAA Memphis for the past couple of seasons. The Cardinals must do a better job of investing time in these prized prospects or risk looking like an organization no one wants to play for anymore.

Gorman and Walker have both struggled while playing for St. Louis but something seems to click while they are in Memphis. While the pitching they face is not at a big-league level, their approaches at the plate are different. It makes you question the big league coaching staff and wonder what the disconnect is between the players and coaches.

There is a disconnect. The difference in place is dramatic. Gorman is hitting better since going back to Memphis. It would be great to have that bat back with St. Louis, but the question of whether he will have the same swing when he returns looms.

Making a time commitment to Walker and Gorman to improve hitting should be made.

Center field

Victor Scott II was sent back to Memphis this week with a list of things to work on from Cardinals coach and center field great Willie McGee and third base coach Pop Warner.

To the disappointment of many, Scott was sent back to Memphis after Michael Siani returned from the injured list. While Siani was great for the Cardinals this season after Scott's slow start and Carlson's shoulder injury to start the season, it's easy to see why Marmol wanted to go with the guy who got the team along.

It's hard to ignore how good Scott was during his second stint with the team. It seemed to find himself a the plate and on the base path, while making some great plays in center field.

Paul Goldschmidt and First Base

Goldschmidt is in the final season of his current contract with the Cardinals. He isn't ready to retire. So, what does this mean for Goldschmidt and the Cardinals? This is an important question the organization will have to answer this offseason.

The Cardinals have several options and it will be interesting to see if Goldschmidt wants to remain with the Cardinals. If he does want to stay with the team, what it would take for him to stay with the club, and is it reasonable for the team? If the two part ways, it would be easier to see the club go with a more experienced first baseman such as one of the many free agents available this offseason, such as Pete Alonso.

If not, the Cardinals may opt to stay with an internal option and go with Alec Burleson as their everyday first baseman. Burleson seems to be a better outfielder and designated hitter.

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