The St. Louis Cardinals entered a rebuild during the 2025-2026 MLB offseason, shipping out Willson Contreras, Sonny Gray, and Brendan Donovan in trades to add prospects and young talent to their organization.
But with Jordan Walker’s breakout season and JJ Wetherholt putting up an incredible rookie year, the Cardinals appeared to be close to contending for the playoffs. So, with that in mind, will Chaim Bloom be aggressive this offseason to quicken this rebuild?
According to The Athletic’s Katie Woo, Will Sammon, and Ken Rosenthal, that doesn’t appear to be the case. Instead, it looks more likely that the Cardinals will have an underwhelming offseason ahead of them this Fall.
Cardinals poised to have underwhelming MLB offseason
“… could the Cardinals splurge this winter and expedite what is expected to be a multi-year rebuild? It’s unlikely, according to league sources familiar with the organization’s thinking,” Sammon, Woo and Rosenthal report.
While it might be tempting for the Cardinals to try and buy in on this iteration of the team, the youngsters who broke out last year, and make a push for a playoff run in 2027, Bloom appears likely to play the long game.
The Athletic trio is reporting that the Cardinals are more likely to operate similar to how things went last offseason than they are to make a big push to spend big and acquire top talent for a playoff run this year.
What does this mean for the offseason? Well, instead of spending big on top-tier veterans to try and win now, the Cardinals are more likely going to explore trades for their own veterans and eye long-term additions rather than short-term ones.
It might not be a very exciting offseason for Cardinals fans, especially after such a fun 2026 season. But for the future of the Cardinals’ franchise, this is probably the right course of action for the team.
The Cardinals had a very successful first year in this rebuild under Bloom, so the fans should continue to trust him as he maneuvers this offseason with a similar mindset.
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