The Cardinals did not get a single vote…again.
For the second-straight year, the St. Louis Cardinals front office was left off The Athletic’s Top Ten Front Offices. In fact, for the second-straight year the St. Louis Cardinals front office didn’t even receive a single vote. I have a lot of thoughts on this, but first, let’s discuss the methodology in constructing this list.
The Athletic sent a poll to 40 front office decision-makers across baseball asking them to rank the top five front offices in baseball, excluding themselves. That is as in-depth as they get in describing whom they chose. What “decision-makers” means is up to interpretation and anyone’s guess is as good as mine, but I imagine it means General Managers as well as folks like John Mozeliak, the St. Louis Cardinals President of Baseball Operations. He isn’t the GM, but the duties of his role sure seem pretty similar to one. The rankings of these Decision Makers were then given a point value: 10 points for first place, seven points for second place, five points for third, three points for fourth and one point for fifth. Simple enough.
Among these 40 Decision Makers, the St. Louis Cardinals front office did not get a single vote. I’ll be honest, my initial reaction was immediately defensive. Before I get to my ultimate conclusion, I want to unpack that a little because I do think a sincere defense can be made. While the team has missed the postseason the last two seasons and fans might be feeling a little frustrated at the decisions these Decision Makers are making, let’s be real — it’s not like they’re operating in complete dysfunction.
I do not think the Cardinals front office is getting enough credit for the team’s consistent competitiveness over the last two decades. The Cardinals have remained relevant in playoff races nearly every year. Even without high-profile moves or top ten payroll, they’ve avoided long rebuilding periods—something teams like the Cincinnati Reds, who did get one vote, have struggled with. Longevity in competitiveness is a sign of a steady front-office strategy.
In that same vein, the organization still places heavy emphasis on drafting and developing players, and they’ve had success turning prospects into contributors — while not often getting high draft picks due to having such a sustained period of success. While the farm system isn’t at its peak right now — that is something the team is aiming to address this year and beyond — St. Louis has consistently produced solid MLB talent without relying on blockbuster trades or excessive spending. That’s not to say they haven’t made impactful trades—just a few years ago, Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado were both MVP finalists, acquired in deals that were widely considered lopsided at the time.
So while they might not be getting recognition now, that doesn’t mean the Cardinals’ front office has been failing—it might just be a victim of perception rather than actual poor management. The thing is, the Cardinals don’t fit the “modern, ultra-aggressive” mold that defines many of today’s highly praised front offices. Instead of chasing short-term success with massive contracts, they often lean toward long-term sustainability. Their front office may not win votes from league executives, but their model has kept them in the mix year after year. Or at least it had. And maybe that is the problem.
Because it can’t just be everyone else. If 40 MLB executives — minus the Cardinals, because they were not allowed to — didn’t vote for the Cardinals front office, it suggests that decision-makers around the league don’t see them as a top-tier operation right now. That doesn’t mean they stink, but it does hint that something needs to change. Perhaps if I take a step back, this could be an opportunity for reflection rather than frustration.
Maybe it’s about modernizing their approach, making bolder decisions in free agency, or developing talent more effectively. While teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tamp Bay Rays have been praised for their front-office strategies, the Cardinals may have been too conservative in their approach to acquiring top-tier talent. They failed to make bold signings or impactful trades and executives have overlooked them.
If the Cardinals are not going to make those aggressive moves, then the team needs to have the home-grown talent to make up for it and that has been something that is lacking as well. The Cardinals have historically focused on player development, but recently their farm system hasn’t translated into consistent success at the major league level. There are a ton of reasons for this that we have gone over time and time again — low draft picks, losing draft picks from the hacking scandal, cutting staff positions from the development side of the organization — and they all add up to the Cardinals falling behind other teams in this area. Other teams, like the Milwaukee Brewers, have been recognized for doing more with less, while the Cardinals have not demonstrated the same level of efficiency in recent years.
No matter how you slice it, these results are a tough reality for the Cardinals front office. Two years without a single vote in this poll suggests that decision-makers around the league don’t see their front office strategy as innovative or effective as perhaps they once did. The good news is the Cardinals have already taken steps to correct this.
Chaim Bloom’s arrival as Cardinals President of Baseball Operations in 2026 could be a big change for the franchise and might inject the new energy and perspective they need to adapt to this ever-changing league. First and foremost, Bloom has been tasked with rebuilding the Cardinals farm system. The Cardinals are expected to shift resources toward player development. His experience with the Rays, a team known for maximizing talent with limited resources, could help the Cardinals develop young players more effectively and turn them into impact contributors at the major league level. Bloom has emphasized that standing still leads to failure. His approach will likely involve embracing analytics, innovative scouting, and aggressive decision-making to ensure the Cardinals don’t fall behind in the evolving MLB landscape.
All that is to say, while two years in a row without any votes for the front office isn’t the best look, it also is not a complete catastrophe. The Cardinals have already signaled that they are willing to adjust and evolve. The team has chosen a terrific candidate to lead them in that mission in Chaim Bloom. They have already made changes to player development like bringing in former players like Jon Jay — a centerfielder not known for his speed, but his outfield positioning — to work with young outfielders like Jordan Walker. The Cardinals have a top five draft pick in this year’s draft. The team is only two seasons removed from a playoff season. This is a team winding down the end of an era but readying to cruise straight into a new one. The future looks promising. Maybe next year the Cardinals will find themselves with one tiny vote in this list.
Happy Sunday!