Cardinals’ 95-Loss Take by Bleacher Report Analyst Is Way Off

The St. Louis Cardinals traded away a lot of talent this past offseason, but there are still reasons for optimism for the 2026 season.

St. Louis may not be in contention for a World Series title in 2026, but it's not like this club doesn't have any talent. The Cardinals have a Silver Slugger Award winner at first base in Alec Burleson, a Gold Glove Award winner with massive upside at shortstop in Masyn Winn and the rest of the infield hasn't been determined yet, but likely will include an elite prospect in JJ Wetherholt and a slugger in Nolan Gorman. The outfield should be pretty good behind Victor Scott II, Jordan Walker and Lars Nootbaar, when he's healthy. The rotation is young, but exciting, starting with Dustin May, Michael McGreevy and Matthew Liberatore.

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All of this is to say, there should be optimism around this club right now. But Bleacher Report's Tim Kelly dropped an odd take and called the Cardinals one of the five teams who are "already screwed" for the 2026 season.

The perception around the Cardinals is wrong

Feb 16, 2026; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals infielder JJ Wetherholt (77) during spring training workouts at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images | Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images

"If you see how many talented young players the Boston Red Sox have promoted in recent seasons, you understand why the Cardinals feel comfortable moving forward with Chaim Bloom as their president of baseball operations," Kelly wrote. "Bloom, though, tore things down to the studs this winter, trading away Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras, Nolan Arenado and Brendon Donovan, setting up the Cardinals to be the only non-competitive team in the NL Central this season. Without a doubt, Bloom has earned the benefit of the doubt on being able to overhaul a farm system and get it churning out talent again based on the jobs he did in Boston and Tampa Bay.

"And it's probably the right move for the Cardinals not to fool themselves into thinking they can contend in 2026. Still, it's strange for this franchise to enter a season where losing 90-plus games feels like a certainty. ... It's rare that a team is so devoid of talent that there's nothing to watch for. The Cardinals have some quality players, particularly in their lineup. As a team, though, they could become the first St. Louis squad to lose 95 or more games since Miller Huggins' squad went 51-99-3 in 1913."

The only teams that lost 95 games or more last season were the Chicago White Sox (60-102), Washington Nationals (66-96) and Colorado Rockies (43-119). Sure, the Cardinals traded away a lot of talent. But on top of adding prospects, the idea was to give playing time to younger guys, like Wetherholt. Last year the Cardinals went 78-84. That should be roughly the same area that they are in 2026 as well. There arguably is too much talent in the organization to sniff 95 losses.