Rays and Brewers should also remind Cardinals that stars are needed for World Series

Much has been made about analytical and scouting approaches of the Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers as they head into the World Series. Even more has been made of the low payrolls that each club boasts. But the St. Louis Cardinals cannot lose sight of the star power that both teams still hold.

The Cardinals are well aware of how good the Brewers are after going 2-11 against the National League Champions this year, and this Brewers team isn't just a ragtag group of guys overachieving. They are led by Jacob Misiorowski, Jackson Chourio, William Contreras, Brice Turang, Jake Bauers, Logan Henderson, Trevor Megill, and more. Oh, and their farm system is arguably the best in the sport alongside the Cardinals and the Rays.

The Rays, like the Brewers, had the best record in their league in 2026, and it did not come by accident. Junior Caminero is one of the best players in the sport; Yandy Diaz, Liam Hicks, and Jonathan Aranda are very, very good hitters, and their pitching staff is led by the likes of Drew Rasmussen, Freddy Peralta, Griffin Jax, and the list goes on.

No matter the payroll or market size, stars still matter, and the Cardinals have to stay in the business of acquiring and retaining theirs if they want to get back to the World Series.

Cardinals must prioritize starpower as they build their next contender

No, they don't need to have a bunch of names on paper like the Los Angeles Dodgers, but when push comes to shove, teams do not achieve World Champion status without having some of the game's best players on their roster.

Even though the Cardinals' last two World Series champions in 2006 and 2011 weren't regular-season juggernauts, both clubs had Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina, Chris Carpenter, and Adam Wainwright on them. In 2006, they were accompanied by Scott Rolen and Jim Edmonds, and in 2011, they had Lance Berkman and Allen Craig. Sure, both clubs had clutch performers like David Eckstein and David Freese who weren't "stars", but they also did not just rely on a bunch of guys to put together otherworldly performances; they weren't seen as those kinds of players.

The Cardinals may have some of those stars already on their roster with the likes of Jordan Walker, Alec Burleson, JJ Wetherholt, Ivan Herrera, Joshua Baez, and Leo Bernal. Sure, most of those guys need to show some more before we can truly say they fall in that category, but it's realistic to think they can be those guys.

They also have guys coming who may be that. Rainiel Rodriguez looks like a superstar. Liam Doyle and Tanner Franklin could be top-end starters. Tekoah Roby, Tai Peete, Jesus Baez, Brandon Clarke, and more have all the potential in the world. Chaim Bloom and this Cardinals front office have done a great job of improving their odds by stacking these talents.

And as the Cardinals' internal talent gets them closer and closer to realizing that contender status, it will be on the front office to identify ways they can add even more top-end talent to that group, as well as retain those guys why they find.

The Brewers drafted and developed Misiorowski, Turang, Henderson, Pratt, and many others on their roster. They signed Chourio in the international amateur market. They traded for Christian Yelich (who they then extended) and William Contreras after they bloomed with their clubs, and they added arms like Dustin May and JoJo Romero at the trade deadline to push for the World Series.

The Rays traded for Caminero while he was still in the DSL for the Guardians. They also acquired the likes of Diaz and Rasmussen while they were undervalued by their clubs. Aranda was also an international amateur free agent, and both Peralta and Jax were acquired at trade deadlines to try to push themselves over the top.

There are tons of ways to acquire stars. The Cardinals are very familiar with drafting and developing their own, but they've also been the team that has gone out and traded for them as well. And while they've never been big spenders in free agency, they do have a leg up on Tampa Bay and Milwaukee in terms of the financial power they can flex.

Luckily for Cardinals fans, they don't need to fear that the DeWitt ownership group feels like they can get by without stars in this new era. Recently, St. Louis media legend Bernie Miklasz came on the Dealin' the Cards podcast and shared with us a story of how DeWitt went out of his way to tell Miklasz that stars matter in St. Louis, and while he has deep respect for the Rays' and Brewers' models, the Cardinals must be able to retain their talent in a way that Tampa Bay and Milwaukee often haven't.

Who will those stars be for St. Louis? To be determined. We have some hunches, but we can also let time reveal that as well. But the bottom line is - they will be essential to getting past the Brewers, Dodgers, and more on the Cardinals' path back toward World Series glory.

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