The predictions were dire for the St. Louis Cardinals at the start of spring training.

Many prognosticators picked the Cardinals to finish last in the National League Central. The thinking was that the Cardinals would regress from their 83-79 record from the previous season after President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak signed only one major-league free agent – setup reliever Phil Maton – in his last offseason on the job.

Also hanging over the Cardinals when they began workouts in mid-February in Jupiter, Fla., was the status of third baseman Nolan Arenado. The eight-time All-Star and 10-time Gold Glove winner had asked Mozeliak to trade him at the end of last season because the 34-year-old did not want to go through a rebuilding process.

The Cardinals brought back basically their same roster from last season, except for star first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. Given a limited budget by ownership, Mozeliak could not afford to retain Goldschmidt in free agency, and the seven-time All-Star signed with the New York Yankees.

Cardinals May Have Been Written Off Too Soon

Yet it was premature to bury the 2025 Cardinals. Arenado is happy, and the Cardinals are 49-43 and in the thick of the pennant race with the All-Star break coming up next week.

The Cardinals got swept by the NL Central-leading Cubs last weekend in Chicago. Yet the Cardinals are still just 5 ½ games behind the Cubs in the division standings. And they are within 1 ½ games of the third and final NL wild card spot.

So, how have the Cardinals defied expectations in what was supposed to be a transition year before former Boston Red Sox executive Chaim Bloom replaces Mozeliak in November? Veteran left-hander Steven Matz has a simple explanation.

“I feel like it’s a collective effort where some days it’s the offense and the way it’s done a great job this year, but some days, we’ve got guys like (right-hander) Sonny Gray throwing one-hit shutouts and the pitching carries us,” Matz said. “So, I just think it’s been a year of different people stepping up at different times. That’s kind of the key to winning. When one or two guys carry the team, it’s hard to sustain success. We have everyone contributing and picking each other up, both in the lineup and with the pitching staff.”

Cardinals Have Few Stars, Many Contributors

The Cardinals have been receiving solid contributions throughout the lineup and rank 10^th in MLB in scoring, averaging 4.64 runs per game. However, pitching has been questionable as the Cardinals’ average of 4.36 runs allowed ranks 19^th.

Matz’s point that the Cardinals’ success is a collaborative effort was underscored when only one of their players was selected to the National League team, as announced Sunday for the All-Star Game in Atlanta, scheduled for next Tuesday.

Second baseman Brendan Donovan will be the Cardinals’ lone representative at Truist Park. He is hitting .296/.368/.438 with eight home runs in 84 games.

Right-hander Sonny Gray has a case for being on the NL squad as he has a 9-3 record and 3.51 ERA in 18 starts.

Other than that, it’s been a group of holdovers making steady progress, and some, like catcher Pedro Pages and center fielder Victor Scott II, are taking advantage of getting regular playing time for the first time in their careers.

The Cardinals didn’t call this a rebuilding year coming into the season. However, it has been somewhat of a retooling, and St. Louis has five regulars in their lineup who are 26 or under with Pages, Scott, shortstop Masyn Winn, right fielder Alec Burleson, and designated hitter Nolan Gorman.

Matthew Liberatore, a 25-year-old left-hander, and 26-year-old right-hander Andre Pallante are also blossoming into dependable members of the starting rotation.

Cardinals Balance Development, Winning

So far, the Cardinals have been able to pull off the tricky combination of developing players and winning games.

It was hard to imagine in spring training that the Cardinals could be buyers at the July 31 trade deadline. However, Mozeliak has been given the green light by ownership to add to the roster if the Cardinals are in contention, rather than dumping players like Arenado and pitchers on expiring contracts, such as Matz, right-handed starters Miles Mikolas and Eric Fedde, and closer Ryan Helsley.

“The guys have done a really nice job of focusing on controlling what they can control,” St. Louis Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said of his team. “What’s impressed me is how hungry they’ve been for feedback, and that’s truly expedited the whole development process for them. So, I feel like they’ve taken some pretty big strides that have allowed us to win games. But their work and then their mindset leading into the work has led to consistency.”