State Of Cardinals: Where Things Stand After 80 Games

The Cardinals are trending in the right direction...

Apr 24, 2022; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; A view of St. Louis Cardinals players hats and gloves in the dugout during a game with the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-Imagn Images | David Kohl-Imagn Images

The 2025 Major League Baseball season has been one to remember for the St. Louis Cardinals.

St. Louis was viewed negatively coming into the season. After an offseason of trade rumors, the Cardinals were widely viewed near the bottom of the National League. That hasn’t mattered. Right now, the Cardinals are just 2 1/2 games behind the Chicago Cubs for the top spot in the National League Central after taking them down in back-to-back games to kick off a four-game series.

The Cardinals are 8-2 over the last 10 games now and look like a serious threat in the National League.

So, where do things stand with the Cardinals through 80 games?

Record: 44-36
NL Central Standings: Second place in the National League Central (2 1/2 games back)
NL Wild Card Standings: Tied with Milwaukee Brewers for Wild Card spot No. 3, half-game behind San Francisco Giants for No. 2 spot, 2 1/2 games behind New York Mets for No. 1 Wild Card spot.
MVP: Brendan Donovan. It's hard to argue against this one. Donovan is slashing .307/.375/.437 with five homers, 29 RBIs, 21 doubles, and 42 runs scored in 71 games played.
Biggest Surprise: Matthew Liberatore. It wasn't clear if he would land a role in the starting rotation in Spring Training. He did and has a 3.96 ERA in 15 starts so far this season.

The Cardinals are one of the league's biggest surprises this season and the timing couldn't be better with about a month to go until the trade deadline.

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