The new MLB market is forcing Cardinals ownerships' hand

Juan Soto is no longer a free agent. In what is not a shocker, the outfielder and future designated hitter signed the largest contract of the 2024-2025 MLB off-season. What is a shocker is how big this contract became. Many projected Soto to sign in the ballpark range of 10 years and $500 million dollars which would be the second largest contract in the sport behind Shohei Ohtani. But Soto's agent blew this projection out of the water. The final contract is a record-breaking 15 years, $765 million dollars. Soto is now the highest-paid athlete in the entire world, surpassing Shohei Ohtani which no one believed was possible.

But that is the new MLB market. The game continues to grow globally and the players are reaping the benefits from it. Currently there are 12 players who have an MLB total guaranteed salary of over $300 million dollars. It seems ludicrous that a single player is worth that kind of money. But teams across the league have shown the financial might and commitment. These teams realize in order to compete and be relevant within the sport, they need to adapt to survive. Teams like the Colorado Rockies have even adapted by signing Kris Bryant for a total dollar amount of $182 million. With the large market juggernauts reestablishing the player market every off-season, the teams less willing to spend are being left in the dust of their own antique model.

The St. Louis Cardinals have shown in the past that you can win by building a minor league system that churns out talent who can all contribute to the major league level at a cheap and controllable price. When the Cardinals were dominating the 2000s, they had the generational talents of Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina whom they could supplement and build around to be sustainable for years. But those days are in decades past and even John Mozeliak has admitted that his failure to produce these kinds of talents has led to the Cardinals' downfall.

With the main focus to reset the organization and let the young players get opportunities, the Cardinals are waiving the white flag on trying to build a contender. With the Dodgers and Mets not slowing down on spending, it is a good time to retool and wait for the heavyweight window of these two teams to close. But if the Cardinals want to be within the same ring as these teams, they have to adapt to the new and current market. Trying to self-identify and operate like a small market club with no winning pedigree is not the move in St. Louis. The fans expect a winning product, and you have to invest in talent to do so. The Cardinals have none of their young players committed for the long term, and they are trying to move their larger contracts to free up salary space. But with the Cardinals telling fans to believe in the financial hardship they are dealing with, remember that the team is operating way behind the times.

After the 2025 season, Cardinals fans can be excited as we enter the Chaim Bloom era. The organization has been needing a new direction for quite some time and the time is almost here. When the next regime knows what young player to keep and which need to go, then the outlook of the organization and change and adapt. But with that in mind, the market is not getting any smaller. If the St. Louis Cardinals want to return to their winning ways and bring glory back to St. Louis, they need to join the market with their spending. Being in the bottom 80% of the league in spending on star players will not work if you truly believe you are resetting an organization to better improve its overall health.