Last offseason's tired narrative won't suffice for the Cardinals in 2025

The Cardinals season is careening right before our eyes. After surging from nine games below .500 to six games over from Mother's Day to July, things have taken another downward turn. Now, the Cardinals are looking at back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 1994-95. This hasn't happened in full seasons for the Cardinals since 1958-59, and back then, the regular season schedule wasn't even 162 games.

At this point, it's obvious that changes need to be made. Those changes need to occur with the front office and coaching staff. That means new faces are required.

Not only that, but new philosophies are needed as well. That was obvious at the end of the 2023 season, and it was what everybody was hoping for. But that didn't happen. While the Cardinals did well with the Sonny Gray signing, the other two starters they signed were coming off of bad seasons. Plus, they were both a few years older than Gray.

The Cardinals had an annoying defense for this, saying that Gibson and Lynn "wanted to be here." Don't get me wrong, it's great to have players who want to be on your team, and Gibson and Lynn have both helped transform the clubhouse into a more positive vibe than last season.

But the play on the field hasn't improved by much, and if the Cardinals want to improve in 2025, they can't use the "he wanted to be here" claim to justify signing players who aren't going to help the team win.

"He wanted to be here" won't fly in 2025 for Cardinals

Fans certainly aren't going to want to hear the front office say the same thing again. While there's nothing wrong with prioritizing veteran leadership, it can't come at the expense of the product on the field, unless there's somebody that would be a major problem in the clubhouse.

This means the Cardinals need to aim higher. Instead of trying to bring back guys like Gibson and Lynn, they need to sign pitchers who will produce better such as Michael Wacha or even Shane Bieber. I hate to kill the vibe here, but Blake Snell and Corbin Burnes are unlikely, even though we all want to see them sign one of those guys.

But you can still sign pitchers who will make more of a difference. The same applies for the lineup. Keeping Paul Goldschmidt around won't do any good, especially since he's past his prime. While J.D. Martinez is aging, he's performing much better than Goldschmidt and would be a major offensive upgrade.

Keeping Lynn, Gibson, and Goldschmidt just because they want to be Cardinals is a bad idea. I have no ill will towards them, but it's time for serious upgrades. Yes, a player wanting to play in St. Louis is required for any signing to take place, but the Cardinals should find the best options possible. Surely there are better ones than Gibson and Lynn to improve the rotation.

With attendance declining as sharply as it is, the organization to wake up and realize that only by making significant improvements to the roster, coaching staff, and even the front office for that matter, will get fans back in the stands for 2025. These are trying times in Cardinal Nation.