ST. LOUIS – As Major League Baseball’s top spenders continue to raise the bar with staggering investments into the game’s top talents, the St. Louis Cardinals ownership group remains committed to a time-tested strategy: “Draft and develop” from within and spend selectively when the opportunity allows.
Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. and president Bill DeWitt III spent nearly half an hour addressing the team’s future during Monday’s Winter Warm-Up media session, including the organization’s strategic “reset,” roster building philosophies, and challenges of competing in baseball’s shifting financial landscape.
The Cardinals haven’t shied away from their visions of a reduced payroll to begin the 2025 season. They have even explored trade proposals for star third baseman Nolan Arenado in pursuit of that.
That said, with spring training less than a month away, the big-league roster remains largely unchanged aside from a few veteran departures and perhaps a growing sense of apathy among some fans over the team’s performance, marked by back-to-back seasons without postseason.
Bill DeWitt Jr. suggested that even if the Cardinals are inclined to spend on free agents, the process is rarely straightforward.
“You have big markets that are just going to do what they do, and we’re not in a position to compete at that kind of level of payroll,” said DeWitt Jr. “There’s a time to do it and a time to build. We’re trying to balance that so that we have the opportunity to have competitive teams every year.”
On several occasions, the DeWitts emphasized the team’s current focus was building from within.
“The best way to build a championship club, in my view, is to have good players coming through the system,” said DeWitt Jr. “When you go a period of time where you don’t have the luxury of early draft choices, it’s very difficult. You can’t just spend your way into it.”
He added, “I’ve always been a draft and develop guy. I think that’s the best way to build a baseball team. Back when we bought the club [in the 1990s], that’s the path we took. I think we’ve reached a point in time where it’s appropriate to focus on that and build the next championship team.”
Bill DeWitt III echoed a similar sentiment, explaining one prime focus for the Cardinals is to maximize factors and assets within their control.
“When we can properly identify you the guys are that are going to be the foundation for our future success, then we can start adding back with various other ways to supplement what you have internally,” said DeWitt III. “Until then, I think our fans know exactly what we’re trying to do, and hopefully they’re on board and will hang in there with us.”
Arenado’s future
Bill DeWitt Jr. says he does not anticipate further payroll cuts to this year’s roster if the Cardinals are unable to trade Nolan Arenado.
“There’s two things,” said DeWitt Jr. on Arenado’s future. “One is, we would prefer to go with younger players, and Nolan himself, if you can find the right opportunity, I think would prefer to play with a team on paper, at least, or whatever view, has a top chance of being a World Series champion [in the short-term future].”
“Having said that, that’s not so easy to find. [It’s finding] the team that you have that much confidence in going to. And he likes it here [in St. Louis]. It’s not like he’s begging to leave, but I think it would be good for him if he could find one of those teams that everybody thinks has the best chance, or a top chance, of winning a championship this year. And he’s Hall-of-Fame type player, so we’re happy to have had him, and we’ll be happy in the future if he stays.”
Future payrolls
Bill DeWitt Jr. noted the Cardinals generally evaluate payroll on year-by-year basis. According to Spotrac’s MLB Salary Payroll Tracker, the approximate 2025 payroll for the Cardinals’ roster is around $125 million. That’s 18th in the league, and around $50 million less than last year.
The DeWitts acknowledged the team is on the down end of a spending cycle compared to past years and anticipate it could rise in upcoming years. However, they believe a more cautious approach is best for 2025.
“We’ve sacrificed draft choices of the past to [spend for] a team in the present at that time,” said DeWitt Jr. “That sort of played itself out. We weren’t in a position to keep doing that.”
Baseball business and streaming
Bill DeWitt III touched on the Cardinals’ broader efforts to enhance both their business and baseball operations.
One key component to this is a restructured TV deal. In November, the Cardinals finalized a deal with Diamond Sports Group to broadcast local games through FanDuel Sports Network, an arrangement that repalced a previously-existing, high-stakes TV rights deal through Diamond Sports as the company navigates bankruptcy proceedings.
The TV deal also opens the door for the first direct-to-consumer streaming option for fans. DeWitt III acknowledged that fans could have access to game broadcasts for around $20 per month this season, but pricing, reach and subscription plans are still being finalized.
“What does that look like for us? That’s a big unknown that we’re really anxious to see,” said DeWitt III. “We’re going to be promoting that product and hopefully having it be a big part of Cardinal Nation experiencing our games every day.”
On other business ventures, DeWitt III noted that planned improvements in the team’s spring training complex in Jupiter, Florida, could begin after this spring training.
He also noted that this year’s projections from ticket sales remain to be determined and that the Cardinals are working to regulate the secondary market for tickets.
“We’re going to clean that up,” said DeWitt III. “I think that’s going to bode well with season ticket holders. We want to make sure that’s a healthy marketplace.”
At last year’s Winter Warm-Up, the DeWitts said the Cardinals traditionally sell around 70-80 percent of their total tickets sold before Opening Day and that the rest of the revenue from tickets sold is usually based on team performance.
Moving forward, Cardinals ownership is hopeful that the organization can leverage technology to better serve the team and the fan base.
“There’s a lot of innovation occurring throughout the league,” said DeWitt III. “There’s a lot of brainstorming going on. It’s actually an exciting time to be in the front office because there are these new tools out there that we are trying to find out the best way to use.”
“On the baseball side, [executive] Chaim [Bloom] is hard at work building that player development team,” said DeWitt. “Chaim is very well calibrated to what teams are doing out there and how an elite player development system looks. Sometimes you can get that and grow internally. Sometimes you need an outside voice to identify those areas that will help you get there. I think we got that on the business and baseball side right now, which is exciting.”