The St. Louis Cardinals will be experiencing yet another quite October. Over the weekend, they were officially eliminated from postseason contention.
This marks the fifth time in the last nine years that the Cardinals have fallen short of the playoffs. They closed out the home portion of their schedule with a series win over the Cleveland Guardians, but catcher Willson Contreras demanded a little bit more from the front office for 2025.
"The only thing we can control is show up next year and keep working," Contreras said after Sunday's game. "But as an organization, I think the Cardinals are one of the biggest organizations in baseball, and if I was them, if I was the front office, I'd have to be hungry to own this division."
The Cardinals have 12 National League Central titles and won their most recent one in 2022. But they've fallen on hard times since Yadier Molina, Albert Pujols, and Adam Wainwright left.
Contreras certainly didn't hold back when discussing what needed to be done for St. Louis to improve in 2025. It's clear that the veteran catcher wants to win and hopes for some urgency.
The Cardinals patched up their starting rotation with underwhelming moves. They're only impactful move was the signing of Sonny Gray. But it was the offense that let the Cardinals down in 2024.
St. Louis will certainly need a bat this offseason, especially if Paul Goldschmidt does not re-sign. But it will be interesting to see if the front office responds to Contreras' comments with some big moves.
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