These wild similarities between two Cardinals seasons will stun fans

History tends to repeat itself, and it seems to be the case with the St. Louis Cardinals as they head into the 2025-2026 offseason.

As the organization heads into a pivotal offseason, it helps to look back into history to see just how long the Cardinals could be in a rebuild. Having three seasons without a postseason isn't a common occurrence for fans of the Cardinals. The last time it happened was from 2016-2018. The last time the Cardinals had two losing seasons in the same decade came in the 1990s.

However, there are plenty of similarities between the 2025-2026 St. Louis Cardinals' offseason to one from the organization's recent history.

The 2025-2026 offseason for the St. Louis Cardinals mirrors the 2007-2008 offseason.

There are three major similarities between these two winter breaks. Before we get to those similarities, let's first differentiate between the two teams.

The 2007-2008 Cardinals had a veteran manager in Tony La Russa. La Russa is a Hall of Fame manager who had just led the club to a World Series title in 2006. Oliver Marmol can't hold a candle to La Russa's career up to this point. Marmol isn't an awful manager by any stretch of the imagination, but he's no Tony La Russa.

The Cardinals also had one of the game's best players in Albert Pujols throughout the 2000s. Pujols posted 7.7 fWAR in 2007, and that wasn't even his peak. He would go on to post fWAR totals of 8.7 in 2008, 8.4 in 2009, and 6.8 in 2010. Albert was in peak form at this time, and this year's Cardinals pale in comparison. The club's fWAR leader this year was Masyn Winn at 3.5 fWAR. There is a severe lack of star power for the Cardinals this year.

The 2007 Cardinals also had a recent history of winning; they had just won the World Series in 2006. The last time the Cardinals made a World Series appearance was in 2013. Their last playoff win was in 2020. The 2000s Cardinals were accustomed to winning. The Cardinals of the 2020s aren't so familiar with that.

For as different as the two teams may be, they are equally similar as the Cardinals enter the offseason.

For starters, the 2007 Cardinals and the 2025 Cardinals both finished the season with a record of 78-84. The fact that the two clubs had the same record while entering a transition season is uncanny.

First, there is a distinct change in leadership at the management level. Following the 2007 season, John Mozeliak would replace the late Walt Jocketty as the club's general manager. This year, Chaim Bloom will supplant Mozeliak as the team's president of baseball operations. Dramatic restructuring should be in order for the Cardinals' front office.

Finally, one difficult roster decision looms for Chaim Bloom at a position John Mozeliak once handled.

Following the 2007 season, All-Star third baseman and future Hall of Famer Scott Rolen and manager Tony La Russa had disagreements, and a trade was all but required of Rolen. This was Mozeliak's first major decision as general manager. This year, Bloom must trade away Nolan Arenado, an All-Star third baseman whom Mozeliak acquired via trade five years ago.

There are plenty of similarities between the 2007-2008 offseason for the St. Louis Cardinals and the 2025-2026 offseason that looms in front of fans. Perhaps we can look to the past to see what is coming our way. I guess this means the Cardinals will win the World Series in 2029!