Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals President Reveals What Would Lead To More Team Spending

The Cardinals didn't do much throughout the offseason...
Patrick McAvoy|
Feb 26, 2021; Jupiter, Florida, USA; A general view of the St. Louis Cardinals logo on the stadium at Roger Dean Stadium during spring training workouts. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images
Feb 26, 2021; Jupiter, Florida, USA; A general view of the St. Louis Cardinals logo on the stadium at Roger Dean Stadium during spring training workouts. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images | Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

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St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals are in first place in the National League Central right now.

After such a long and odd offseason, I bet you didn't expect to see that already?

To be fair, Opening Day was on Thursday. But, the Cardinals came out on top over the Minnesota Twins. The Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Milwaukee Brewers all lost. The Chicago Cubs won on Thursday, but they lost twice in Japan a few weeks ago.

All jokes aside, this Cardinals team certainly does seem to be underestimated. The Cardinals did trim the payroll down this past offseason, but they did so by cutting ties with older pitchers, like Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson, as well as not bringing Paul Goldschmidt back.

The Cardinals didn't blow up the roster and it looks pretty similar to how it did last year when the team won 83 games and was tied for second place in the division. The Cardinals didn't do anything throughout the offseason, but this isn't a bad team by any means.

But, what would it cost for the team to go out and be aggressive again in free agency or the trade market? Cardinals team president Bill DeWitt III discussed on 101 ESPN St. Louis.

"I think it's a function of how the team plays and how our young players play," DeWitt said. "Because that's ultimately what will drive sort of an aggressive approach to either the free agent or trade market. If, you know, God forbid we sort of stumble and regress, you'd be dumb to go out and sign 10 free agents because you're just sort of chasing your tail.

"If we do see that progress, I think that's what gives you the confidence that when you add fuel to the fire, the fans come back and the media comes back and all of this stuff starts to have a positive flywheel effect."

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Patrick McAvoy
PATRICK MCAVOY

Patrick McAvoy's experiences include local and national sports coverage at the New England Sports Network with a focus on baseball and basketball. Outside of journalism, Patrick also is pursuing an MBA at Brandeis University. After quickly rising as one of the most productive writers on the site, he expanded his reach to write for Baseball Essential, a national baseball site in Sports Illustrated Media Group. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Inside The Cardinals, please reach out to Scott Neville: nevilles@merrimack.edu

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