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Three teams the St. Louis Cardinals can learn from after the 2023 season
The Cardinals are going to need to make major changes this offseason, and these three teams offer blueprints for them on how to avoid the mess they are in
The 2023 season has been nothing short of an embarrassment for the Cardinals.
Entering this year, the team was favored to win what looked like a weak NL Central division. However, things went south very quickly, and the rest of the division finally caught up with the Cards. The Brewers remained solid while the Cubs and Reds made drastic improvements. Even the Pirates finally caught up with the Cardinals.
Fortunately, we have now entered the month of September, which means that this nightmare of a season is almost over. The Cardinals' playoff hopes are squashed at this point, and it's clear that this year will end up being their first losing season since all the way back in 2007 when they finished 78-84 on the heels of their 2006 World Series title.
It's clear that the way the Cardinals have been doing things for so long is no longer working, and that things are going to need to change. And when we think of change, it's going to have to be a major shift, not just incremental tweaks.
We've seen several teams over the years make major changes when things aren't working, and it's time that the Cardinals followed suit and made some changes themselves.
In this piece, we will be looking at three Major League organizations that the Cardinals can learn from after this disastrous season comes to an end, examining what those teams did and how the Cardinals can model their future strategy based on how others conducted their business.
Texas Rangers
To me, the Rangers are the most obvious example of who the Cardinals can model their offseason strategy based on.
The Rangers lost 94 games last year, even after signing players such as Jon Gray, Marcus Semien, and Corey Seager. Their most obvious weakness? Starting pitching, much like the Cardinals.
And so, the Rangers went straight to work when the offseason began, adding four starters to bolster their rotation. They signed Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, and Andrew Heaney and also traded for St. Louis area native Jake Odorizzi.
deGrom got hurt, and Eovaldi is also on the injured list, but the Rangers' rotation became their ultimate strength as a result of their offseason activity. Now, they have Max Scherzer and Jordan Montgomery in their rotation, and despite their recent struggles, they could be a serious threat this coming postseason.
Houston Astros
The Astros are another example of a team that the Cardinals can learn from. Immediately after winning the World Series, Houston went big and signed Jose Abreu to fill the void at first base left by the departure of Yuli Gurriel.
That deal hasn't worked out for them unfortunately, but it ultimately goes to show that they remained aggressive, even after winning the World Series. They wanted more, and so they went out and tried to improve their team instead of accepting regression. They even went out and re-acquired Justin Verlander at the trade deadline.
Another example is the trade for Gerrit Cole after the 2017 season. Houston already had a solid one-two punch in their rotation in Dallas Keuchel and Verlander, and this was after they won their first-ever World Series title.
But adding Cole gave them yet another ace in the hole, and it helped guide them to two more seasons of 100-plus wins and a second American League pennant. Houston refused to be complacent and ultimately chose the path that the Cardinals should be taking in the future.
Chicago White Sox
It seems trivial that the White Sox are on this list, especially with the way their season has gone.
But recently, they made some very important moves to shake up the front office. Owner Jerry Reinsdorf fired General Manager Rick Hahn and President Ken Williams, two men who had been with the organization for decades.
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I don't think the Cardinals will follow suit in that regard unless things continue to get worse beyond 2023. But it's clear that what they're doing right now isn't working. John Mozeliak's complacency ultimately backfired and caused the worst Cardinals season since 2007.
This is also something that has been a theme over the past several years. The White Sox deserve credit for finally acting and recognizing that there needed to be some major changes in-house. If things stay this bad for the Cardinals, it should come as no surprise if and when they decide to make further changes.