The St. Louis Cardinals have lost their way. Now they must fix their failure
Katie Woo, writing for The Athletic, has a story on what the St. Louis Cardinals off-season moves might potentially be.
The Cardinals have lost their way, according to people within the organization interviewed by The Athletic, all of whom were granted anonymity in exchange for their candor. All described an outdated player development department, one that has hurt players like Walker. Some lamented the organization’s emphasis on directing more money to the big-league payroll, even if it meant skimping on hiring the coaches, instructors and modern technology that are vital to refining players as they progress through the minors. Those decisions have left the organization to reckon with the harsh reality that they have fallen behind their rivals.
This has been years in the making.
The Cardinals missed the postseason for the second consecutive year and appear ready to revive the infrastructure that once served as a conveyor belt for polished homegrown players. Though they do not plan on tanking, people briefed on the Cardinals’ plans say the organization is preparing to shift its focus on upgrading the minor leagues and the player development department, even if it means going down a path seldom taken in baseball-mad St. Louis: accepting the possibility of not putting the major-league team in position to contend.
President of baseball operations John Mozeliak plans to publicly address the team’s future shortly after the regular season ends, though he and general manager Mike Girsch declined multiple requests for comment for this story. Representatives of the ownership group headed up by chief executive officer Bill DeWitt II did not respond to The Athletic’s interview requests.
It’s a great piece touching on nearly every aspect of the club. However, it doesn’t address the glaring hole of the missing Yadier Molina, who I think still wants to be part of the organization, but it’s unclear what role that might play.
Overall, it’s difficult to see the same people responsible for the collapse are also trusted to make the right changes and turn it around. I’m not so sure.