Starting today, the St. Louis Cardinals embark on a 17-game stretch in 17 days against the Seattle Mariners, Pittsburgh Pirates, Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, and San Diego Padres.
The Cardinals carry a 14-10 record into this stretch, having five off days baked into their first 24 games of action. They've intentionally navigated those frequent off days to maximize their performance on the field, and now staring down the barrel of 70% of the games they've played this year with zero rest during that stretch, it could be easy for current cracks in their armor to burst wide open.
This is especially true when considering the quality of opponents they will be facing. While the Cardinals carry a .583 win% heading into action today, the clubs they've played thus far have combined for a 77-98 record, just a .440 win%, with just the Guardians and the Tigers posting above .500 records so far this season. The Cardinals went 3-3 against them.
The teams they are about to face have fared much better early in the season, posting a combined .579 win% in their contests so far. And again, zero off days for St. Louis during this stretch.
Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom has continued to be clear about what this season is and what it isn't. Yes, the Cardinals would love to win as many games as possible, but the priority is the future. Still, their early-season success on the field has led many to get at least a bit excited about watching some competitive baseball in 2026, and while these 17 games are unlikely to truly dictate which direction the Cardinals go, it's hard to imagine it not being the defining stretch of their season.
If the Cardinals play well during this gauntlet, they'll have to be taken seriously.
We are already 15% of the way through the regular season, and the Cardinals' record has been far better than most would have predicted up until this point. If they are still above .500 after this brutal stretch of games, they'll be exactly 25% of the way through the season, and it will be hard not to take them seriously at that point.
Not as some World Series contender or true threat to make a run in October, but if the Cardinals walk away maintaining or even improving their record, they will have shown they have the traits needed to be a frisky team all year long and a group that could even compete for the Wild Card in what seems like a wide-open National League at this point.
Lars Nootbaar has yet to return from injury and can become a key piece of their lineup. There are prospects in Memphis like Joshua Baez, Jimmy Crooks, and Blaze Jordan who could add to their offense. Arms like Quinn Mathews, Hunter Dobbins, Luis Gastelum, and more could strengthen a leaky pitching staff. They have some reinforcements to play with here that could build upon a hot start.
Now, even if that is the case, that doesn't "accelerate" their rebuild or mean they shouldn't be looking to sell pieces at the deadline to add to this bigger vision that Bloom has for the organization, and he reiterated that on my interview with him over the weekend on the.
Frankly, even if the Cardinals are sitting at or around .500 after this stretch, it will be hard not to at least feel hopeful about their chances as the season goes on. But if they fall flat on their face during this gauntlet, it will just confirm what many believed to be true before the season began: They don't have enough this year.
If the Cardinals slip up during this stretch, that doesn't make this season a failure.
Measuring success for the Cardinals in 2026 has far more to do with the individual development of players and prospects, the overall culture being fostered, and the direction they are heading in come season's end than the number of wins they can accumulate. Winning baseball games would likely point to some encouraging things happening internally, but those wins can also fool you if they take their eye off the ball.
Outside of 2023, the Cardinals haven't been a "bad" team in recent years, but they've certainly been stuck in mediocrity. And if the Cardinals are going to pull themselves out of that, it's going to require time, patience, and persistence in staying the course. Investment is there, it's just not on the payroll currently. The investment has come in the form of expanded personnel at all levels of the organization, a commitment to player development and the necessary technology and infrastructure to do that well, an opportunity for young players to spread their wings, and, actually, sending some of their "payroll commitments" to other clubs in order to bring back even better young talent.
And, when the time is right, they'll supplement that Major League team with more proven talent, and that payroll will rise. Bloom knows they owe that to fans, but he also knows they have to do the right, and oftentimes hard, things, before they can start making the "fun" moves again.
So, even if this competitive part of this season goes "off the rails" over these next few series, it doesn't mean the season is a failure. Frankly, it doesn't even mean you should stop watching them play. Frankly, what the Cardinals have shown us so far this season is that this team is full of fight, a drive to get better, and a desire to make this city proud.
I think we'd all love for them to keep surprising us and feel a bit "ahead of schedule" as the year goes on, but let's not lose sight of the bigger plan at play here.