Whenever I share content, I strive to make sure that it\u2019s based on facts. I need to disclose that this will not be based on many of those, but instead on my admittedly unrealistic optimism about the upcoming St. Louis Cardinals 2026 season.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s get the facts out of the way from the get go. As I mentioned yesterday, the new PECOTA projections shared by Baseball Prospectus<\/a> do not envision much happiness for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2026. They see the Cardinals as a 66-win team while ZiPS<\/a> isn\u2019t much different. I have not come across any reliable baseball protagonist predicting anything above a .500 season for St. Louis and I don\u2019t disagree that the roster doesn\u2019t look like much on paper.<\/p>\n So why am I so gosh-darned giddy about the St. Louis Cardinals 2026 season? I don\u2019t have a good answer other than to say that it\u2019s partially Spring\u2019s fault since the upcoming warmer weather months tend to put me in a better mood, but I have baseball reasons also. First, I haven\u2019t been this happy about St. Louis Cardinals baseball since 2022. The return of Albert Pujols<\/a> for his final season and the 700 home run chase was a blast. I was also naively thinking that the Goldschmidt\/Arenado era would bring us championship contention again. That was all dashed by the Philadelphia Phillies in the first round of the playoffs and I can\u2019t say I\u2019ve been very happy with the organization since. The past 3 seasons were an infuriating experiment in watching the baseball team I have cheered on since birth tread water and seem to accept mediocrity. I don\u2019t read minds, but I had the perception that John Mozeliak<\/a> and Cardinals ownership simply wanted a team that might be good enough to sneak into the playoffs instead of building a juggernaut that could contend against filthy-rich teams like the Dodgers.<\/p>\n New President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom<\/a> and his team have changed the atmosphere significantly by aggressively moving Sonny Gray<\/a>, Willson Contreras<\/a>, Nolan Arenado<\/a> and their no-trade clauses elsewhere while restocking our minor league system with young blood. As the St. Louis Post-Dispatch<\/a> reported a few days ago, the Cardinals farm system is now rated #2 in baseball by Baseball America, the highest it\u2019s been in 13 years. It\u2019s about dang freaking time, I say. We now possess the super-interesting Jurrangelo Cijntje<\/a> who may or may not continue his lefty\/righty pitching approach<\/a> in his St. Louis Cardinals progression, but his upside is tantalizing. Credit also to John Mozeliak for drafting Liam Doyle<\/a> who will be infuriating opposing teams sometime in the next year or two. If you didn\u2019t get Chris Carpenter<\/a> vibes listening to him answer questions during the Winter Warmup, you missed something awesome.<\/p>\n As I look at the St. Louis Cardinals going into Spring Training, I can\u2019t wait to see what JJ Wetherholt<\/a> does with his open opportunity to make the starting day roster. I\u2019m also unrealistically hopeful that Nolan Gorman and Jordan Walker will find their sky high potential. I think it will be fun to see what Dustin May does now that he\u2019s a part of the St. Louis Cardinals and not those dastardly Dodgers. I also think this will be the year when Riley O\u2019Brien<\/a> becomes a feared closer. OK, so maybe feared is TOO optimistic, but I think he\u2019s someone the Cardinals can rely on to get them through this transitional rebuilding phase.<\/p>\n What will be interesting to me will be how the overall St. Louis Cardinals fanbase shows up (or not) for the 2026 season. I know there are many who have anecdotally shared the bad vibes they overheard at many games last year. How many of them, I wonder, understand what Chaim Bloom has accomplished already and the big picture of where this will hopefully take the team? Are they excited to see the debut of JJ Wetherholt? I sure hope so. While I\u2019m not planning to concede losses before any games get played, I admit the St. Louis Cardinals will likely not be a contender this year. That does not diminish my newfound happiness that the turnaround has started and mediocrity is no longer good enough. I cannot wait to see where this takes us over the next few seasons.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Whenever I share content, I strive to make sure that it\u2019s based on facts. 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