The St. Louis Cardinals entered the offseason with Chaim Bloom taking over for John Mozeliak as the team's newest president of baseball operations. He is tasked with getting this club back on track, and he has his work cut out for him.
It has now been three seasons since the Cardinals were last in the postseason. And unfortunately, it could be a few more years until they're back playing meaningful October baseball.
The club is currently in the middle of its rebuild. However, the offseason moves that Bloom has made should fire up the fanbase that the team is on the right track.
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The Cardinals are doing exactly what they need to this offseason
Earlier in the offseason, the Cardinals made a trade with the Boston Red Sox, sending Sonny Gray their way, while receiving promising pitching prospects Brandon Clarke and Richard Fitts. They also traded Willson Contreras to Boston in exchange for Hunter Dobbins, Yhoiker Fajardo, and Blake Alta.
But their biggest trade came when they sent Nolan Arenado to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for RHP Jack Martinez.
The Athletic's Chad Jennings applauds the team's moves, fully embracing the rebuild.
"They had a plan. They've executed it. The Cardinals traded Gray, Contreras and Arenado. They still have Brendan Donovan as a potent trade chip at a time when free agent infielders have become few and far between. Dustin May was an upside signing for the rotation, and the trades brought in a couple more arms, Richard Fitts and Hunter Dobbins, who could make a lot of starts this season. The Cardinals are doing what they set out to do."
As Jennings mentions, they still have Donovan out there for teams to fight over. All in all, St. Louis has a much better future outlook now than they did before the offseason started. Fans have something to be excited about, even if they have to wait a bit to see it come to fruition.
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