On Sunday, John Mozeliak spoke to Tom Ackerman on Sports on a Sunday Morning and made some comments about the future of the Cardinals that many fans aren’t going to like.
When he discussed spending money and improving the team, he had this to say.
“Obviously we know we’re going to have an uphill climb with what the TV markets could look like moving forward, and so we are going to have our challenges. I think our side is going to have to recalibrate a little bit and I’m still hopeful our fanbase will support us and appreciate what we’re trying to do, but I can understand their level of frustration too.”
This doesn’t sound good. I know I’m not the first to say it. Automatically, as fans, the first thing we’re going to assume is that the front office and ownership won’t be spending money due to lack of attendance and the Bally Sports situation. It’s easy to assume that, and I am certainly frustrated that they’re essentially blaming the fans for not showing up to support a mediocre product.
This leads us to believe that the Cardinals are going to have a lower payroll in 2025, which is frustrating. That means it’s highly unlikely they’ll sign any big free agents. We can all safely assume that Max Fried, Corbin Burnes, and Blake Snell are too far out of the Cardinals preferred price range.
First off, let’s debunk a certain myth. No, a lower payroll doesn’t mean the Cardinals can’t make moves. However, it’s fair to be frustrated by that possibility and if they do make moves, they may not be ones that really move the needle.
We may see them make incremental moves again, similarly to the Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn signings. Again, this is underwhelming. Those signings haven’t exactly panned out, and I, like many believe the Cardinals should have aimed higher.
We don’t know what the budget will look like this offseason, and perhaps there could be room to make at least one impactful move to improve the team. But it’s important to understand that payroll isn’t everything.
Bernie Miklasz pointed out on his show that teams like the Brewers, Royals, and Guardians typically spend significantly less than the Cardinals do, yet all three teams are miles better than St. Louis. One of the main reasons the Cardinals are where they are now is because they’ve fallen behind the times in how they operate as an organization, while others have adapted. We’ll discuss that more another time.
But the point is, a lower payroll won’t necessarily stop them from improving the team and making some upgrades in certain areas. They can still add players, but that doesn’t mean they’re going to blow us away with a bunch of blockbuster signings.
Instead, we can probably expect them to be a little more frugal, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it could lead us to be underwhelmed. I guess we’ll see what the budget looks like and how much room they’ll have with players like Paul Goldschmidt, Andrew Kittredge, Lynn, and Gibson coming off the books.
But again, spending less doesn’t mean they won’t spend. It just means we may not like what they decide to do.