The St. Louis Cardinals made their fourth of four major offseason trades on Monday afternoon when they shipped All-Star Brendan Donovan to the Seattle Mariners. The Cardinals received two prospects and a draft pick from Seattle, and they also got a prospect and a draft pick from the Tampa Bay Rays.

After all of these moves, prospect (and young player) development will be the central focus of the Cardinals in 2026.

St. Louis is widely projected to finish last in the National League Central, but with the young players growing, there is hope for the future.

And the hope is that when that future comes, St. Louis will re-invest in the major league roster. After all, they should have some significant savings to play with, according to The Athletic:

Payroll is a top factor when a team is rebuilding, and the Cardinals’ projected payroll is expected to fall under $100 million for the first time since 2010. The Cardinals will also be a revenue-sharing recipient for the first time in at least 25 years. The club is expecting to see a significant drop in gate revenue this year following historically-low attendance in 2025. 

Now, there are many things at play, and the team's recent television situation will cost it money as well. The coffers won't be as full as the organization would like, but still, there will be real savings here.

And front office leader Chaim Bloom has experience with this sort of thing. After all, he helped the Red Sox rebuild their organization and then he spent when he felt it was time to spend. He signed Trevor Story to a $140 million deal before the 2022 season and added Masataka Yoshida on a $90 million deal before the 2023 season.

The hope is that the Cardinals will do the same, and with a burgeoning core of young players and a rich history, that they will also be an attractive destination for free agents in the future.

Rebuilds are never fun, but they can yield real results in the future. The Chicago White Sox originally gutted their roster after the 2016 season, and then made the playoffs in both 2020 and 2021. The Houston Astros were horrific from 2011-14 and then began their journey to seven consecutive American League Championship Series's shortly after.

In addition to the prospects the Cardinals already have, they have a whopping six draft picks in the Top 100 of the 2026 MLB Draft, which gives them a real chance to spearhead their rebuild even quicker.

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