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What we have learned about the Cardinals so far this offseason
The St. Louis Cardinals have accomplished most of their postseason to-do list. But it feels like more needs to happen before Spring Training.
John Mozeliak, Cardinals president of baseball operations, had a specific set of needs he wanted to accomplish this offseason. He wanted to make sure Gold Glove, All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado wouldn't opt out and leave the Cardinals. Mozeliak wanted to make sure Adam Wainwright came back to the Cardinals to have a proper send-off season before retirement. And third, he wanted to get the best candidate to replace legendary catcher Yadier Molina. Getting a designated hitter, bench help, and more pitching would be nice, but not essential.
Mozeliak traveled to Southern California to meet with Arenado to talk one-on-one about staying with the Cardinals. Arenado enjoys playing in St. Louis in front of the fans, with good friends like Paul Goldschmidt and Lars Nootbaar. Most importantly, he likes playing for a winning organization. This was the first season in which Arenado played for a club that won their division. He enjoyed that and wants to go deeper into the postseason. Arenado announced he wouldn't use his opt-out clause and would stay with the Cardinals, to the relief of many fans.
Getting Wainwright to sign a one-year deal to finish his Cardinal career seemed like an obvious move. We knew after close to 20 years with the organization and the recent retirement of Molina, and he would soon follow. Wainwright didn't like how the 2022 season played out for him and wants to end things on his terms. That's obviously respectable and exactly what fans want from Wainwright. While seeing his last season will be sad, he must do so in a Cardinals jersey.
Getting that replacement for Molina proved to be a big, time-consuming move for the team. Rumors of trades and free agent signings swirled, but the move the Cardinals ultimately made was set in motion the weekend the Cardinals and Cubs played at Busch Stadium, where Albert Pujols hit his 695th home run.
At that game, Willson Contreras first thought about what it would be like to wear a Cardinals uniform and take over as catcher after Molina retired at the end of the season after 19 seasons with the team. While it was reported that Contreras had consulted with former teammate Jose Quintana about his experience with the organization, he was also getting communications from Molina and was visited at his home by Mozeliak and Cardinals manager Oli Marmol.
During his introductory press conference, Contreras said all of the right things to endear himself to the Cardinals. He paid respects to the tradition, Molina, and the legacy he leaves behind. He also wants to follow in Molina's footsteps and be his own man. That's great to hear, and it's easy to want to see him succeed.
We know Mozeliak got the team's main concerns addressed. But even with the enormous talent this team has, it is obvious more moves will be needed if they want to go deeper into the postseason.
What do we know about the Cardinals right now?
The most obvious thing Mozeliak and the Cardinals have is faith. The team has a lot of faith in what they have right now.
They believe Tyler O'Neill will return to his 2021 form. O'Neill had an amazing 2021 season. He won a second straight Gold Glove for his work in left field. He hit .286/.352/.560 with 34 home runs, 89 runs scored, and 80 RBIs, as well as 15 stolen bases. O'Neill suffered several injuries that hampered his 2022 season. He his .228/.308/.392. It will be wonderful if O'Neill can recapture his 2021 form. It will be interesting to see if changing his off-season workout routine will help. Working alongside Matt Holliday, who is also big into weightlifting, should help. O'Neill should benefit from Holliday as far as hitting. It will be interesting to see if he improves with the departure of Jeff Albert as hitting coach. While he worked with new assistant hitting coach Brandon Allen in Memphis, it will be interesting to see that work translates to the major league level and how Turner Ward will help.
Having a rejuvenated O'Neill back to his 2021 form will be necessary. With Lars Nootbaar slated as the right fielder, as long as Dylan Carlson is healthy at center field, it will be great to have that consistency in left field with his big bat.
Speaking of being wary of the health of Carlson, it's important to note the front office's faith they will get a big-time performance from Jordan Walker this season. Walker had an incredible 2022 season in the minor leagues and the Arizona Fall League. He's young and talented, and he will be a star when he arrives. This is similar thinking fans had on Carlson and Nolan Gorman, and contributed to a hit in the team's confidence in these two. But Walker is just a different kind of player. Here's hoping he makes a big splash with the Cardinals in 2023.
Despite many impending vacancies and a new pitching coach, the team seems fine with its current rotation. Adam Wainwright will retire after the 2023 season. This is the final year of the current contract for Miles Mikolas. This is the final arbitration season for Jordan Montgomery and Jack Flaherty. Steven Matz is the only rotation member that is signed beyond this season.
With health being a major concern, the team may depend on Andre Pallante, Dakota Hudson, or Matthew Liberatore. It would be great if the Cardinals made a trade for an ace-level pitcher. A left handed one would be great. While getting runs is important, having enough consistently reliable pitching is just as important. Mozeliak must make some moves to improve pitching. Hopefully he doesn't wait much longer to get that fixed.
While he may not say it publicly, it's apparent that Mozeliak still needs to address this in the offseason. He must make some more moves if he hopes to get this team back in a situation where they can make deep playoff runs. With the amount of talent they have, Mozeliak must make some more improvements.
Next. Cardinals biggest X-Factor in 2023. dark