Cardinals missing playoffs again is terrible

Remember when the St. Louis Cardinals used to make the playoffs every season? It has certainly been a while since the Cardinals have been there and had a nice run in the playoffs. It is getting old.

The Cardinals were last in the playoffs in 2022, as they took on the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL Wild Card. They were swept in two games. The last time the Cardinals won a series was in 2019 in the NL Division Series against the Atlanta Braves. They took the series 3-2.

And that's been it. In 2023, the Cardinals had their worst season in decades, going 71-91. They have won more games in 2024 but are teetering around the .500 mark. A winning season would be excellent after the 2023 disaster. It's not a return to the playoffs, though. That's what most fans want to see. It's what the players want to do. To go to the playoffs for a chance to win it all.

It gets old to hear that other teams need to win occasionally. Other teams don't have a roster with Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt. Goldschmidt's final homestand may be this weekend unless they can work out a deal. Pair these two with Willson Contreras, Sonny Gray, and a plethora of young talent, and the team could make the playoffs again.

The team will still need to make more moves this offseason. Significant changes must be made.

The team could see a couple of front-office changes, including finding a new director of player development and possibly increasing Chaim Bloom's responsibilities. John Mozeliak will remain through the final season of his contract, with Bloom handling more duties in baseball operations.

The coaching staff could undergo several changes, and if Bloom takes on more responsibility, there could be many changes. Hitting coach Turner Ward is undoubtedly in his final days as the Cardinals hitting coach. Additional staff to help the hitters is desperately needed. Dusty Blake has improved after his second season as pitching coach, but he could use more help. There should be a change in third base coach with Ron "Pop" Warner taking on a different role.

Daniel Descalso has been great as a bench coach in helping the players and manager, Oli Marmol.

It will be interesting to see if Marmol remains the Cardinals' manager. This is the second season in which the team has had a drastically underwhelming outcome. Marmol is under contract through the 2026 season. Mozeliak will likely keep him around to make good on the contract extension. On the other hand, Bloom may want to change managers. The organization has been big on continuity within the system. Bloom has spent this season taking notes of everything that's happened and could break the continuity trend. It may benefit the team to look outside the box. Keeping coaches like Descalso, Warner, Willie McGee, and Stubby Clapp around could maintain the continuity. Bringing Skip Schumaker could be interesting because he has deep Cardinals ties but has been a successful manager with the Miami Marlins, winning NL Manager of the Year in 2023.

Changes to the starting rotation will be needed. Gray struggled this season. The team has Erick Fedde, Steven Matz, and Andre Pallante in the fold. Miles Mikolas is technically in the fold, but the team needs to consider trading the veteran arm, as it's time for both sides to move on. Mike McGreevy has made a great impression in his appearances with the team this summer. Kyle Gibson would be great to bring back for his leadership with the younger arms. He has a one-year option. It would be great for the team to find another ace-type arm for the rotation.

The bullpen is likely to have an overall. Kenyan Middleton should make his debut with the Cardinals next spring. Lance Lynn has an option for 2025 and could return to the bullpen unless he decides to retire or move on. Jojo Romero is still arbitration-eligible. The big question for the bullpen will be with closer Ryan Helsley, as this will be his final season of arbitration.

This is a huge offseason for the Cardinals to prove they are serious about getting back to the playoffs and making a deep run.

It's disappointing that the Cardinals didn't make the playoffs again. The organization must step up and prove it's also disappointed and wants this club back in contention. The status quo will not be acceptable this offseason.