Anyone else catch this line from J. Denton column?

[rockondlouie]

About new Cardinals starter R. Fitts:

“When I (Fitts) talked to [president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom] it was about wanting success for many years, and I want to be a part of that. It was awesome to hear where [the Cardinals] are at -- this isn’t the start of any kind of rebuild or anything; it was, ‘we feel we’re close to being ready to complete and we want you to be a part of that.’”

https://www.mlb.com/cardinals/news/rich ... -cardinals

[TheFantasyStud]

Chaim has never called it a rebuild. The media, especially Bernie, has.
I think we will compete this year. He’s clearing the roster but he’s got a plan and will have money to spend.

[ecleme22]

The good thing about the Cardinals’ situation is they aren’t starting from zero.

They have a nucleus of young talent that they can build on and be a competitive team pretty darn soon.


I mean, trading Gray, Nolan, Donovan, and Wilson. That’s not that bad. People who complain about it are ridiculous

And whoever they get in return can help the team I think relatively soon. And they have money left over to grab a few starters.

[mattmitchl44]

Close to competing is a pretty relative concept. Close could definitely be 2027 instead of 2026, or 2028 if player development doesn't proceed as hoped in 2026.

[Strummer Jones]

Chaim has never called it a rebuild. The media, especially Bernie, has.
I think we will compete this year. He’s clearing the roster but he’s got a plan and will have money to spend.

I have no illusions that we're going to be in the mix for a play-off spot. Hope springs eternal this time of year, I know, but there's a real chance that we're going to be better than we thought.

We forget the dead weight we're getting rid of. We'll lose some good players, too, no doubt. Call it hopium, but I think a lot of the younger guys who are brought up to replace the dead weight will be better, and the ones who will slide into the talented players we have/will have moved will be able to replicate most of who they're replacing.

I think Fitts might be a pleasant surprise this year, especially.

[C-Unit]

Close to competing is a pretty relative concept. Close could definitely be 2027 instead of 2026, or 2028 if player development doesn't proceed as hoped in 2026.

Good point and for that matter they were also close to competing in 2024 and 2025 depending on what the definition is.

[C-Unit]

Chaim has never called it a rebuild. The media, especially Bernie, has.
I think we will compete this year. He’s clearing the roster but he’s got a plan and will have money to spend.

I've noticed that too. I don't like calling it a rebuild either I've been calling it overall improvement. Under that term, certain deadline markers like "trade deadline" and "offseason" are removed from the conversation and Bloom is just going to wake up every morning and try to improve the team. Whether that's coaching/personnel or prospect capital or ironing out a core for the ML team.

[82birds]

Close to competing is a pretty relative concept. Close could definitely be 2027 instead of 2026, or 2028 if player development doesn't proceed as hoped in 2026.

agree

[mattmitchl44]

Close to competing is a pretty relative concept. Close could definitely be 2027 instead of 2026, or 2028 if player development doesn't proceed as hoped in 2026.

Good point and for that matter they were also close to competing in 2024 and 2025 depending on what the definition is.

People will read into these comments whatever they want.

[Hoosier59]

Competing in 2026 will be determined by how does McGreevey proceed? Fitts? Will Liberatore become a competent 180+ innings pitcher? Will Quinn Mathews bounce back after a down 2025? Who will finish out the rotation after all the trades are made, and will a Veteran arm be added to the mix via free agentcy? Will Pallante be the 2024 version, or the 2025?
Will Gorman, and/or Walker figure things out? What kind of rookie season will Wetherholt have? Will Burleson, and Herrera continue to impress? Will Winn be better offensively after getting his knee repaired. Will Crooks be the run producer he has been in the minors?
Finally, will the bullpen be as good as last year? Who are the lefties going to be? Closer?
If all of those things end up positively, then the Cardinals should be quite competitive in 2026.

[ramfandan]

Going to be fun to see JJ Wetherholt play and later in the year possibly see Doyle firing 100MPH fastballs .
Also watching McGreevy for full year .
Seeing some new blood will be enjoyable .

[Carp4Cy]

The good thing about the Cardinals’ situation is they aren’t starting from zero.

They have a nucleus of young talent that they can build on and be a competitive team pretty darn soon.


I mean, trading Gray, Nolan, Donovan, and Wilson. That’s not that bad. People who complain about it are ridiculous

There are pros and cons to those trades. Just have to keep both sides in mind here as we project into the future.

[rockondlouie]

Chaim has never called it a rebuild. The media, especially Bernie, has.
I think we will compete this year. He’s clearing the roster but he’s got a plan and will have money to spend.

I've been in agreement w/you FS.

Once the dust settles and all the trades are completed I think the franchise will be in a much better place and (IMO) the 2026 squad will be better than the 2025 team by anywhere from 5 - 10 games!

Lotta deadweight is gone (Mikolas/Fedde soon NADO too?) and while we'll likely lose a good player in Donny, they'll add possibly an even better player in JJW!

From the same article:

“Sometimes the long term might conflict with the short term … and when those things run in opposite directions, we’re going to choose the long term because that’s where this organization needs to be,” Bloom said. “We’re trying to get back to a certain place and stay there. History has shown the way the Cardinals have always done that is with their young, talented core.”

The important thing is Bloom won't lose sight of the L-T plan even if he still wants to compete in 2026, that's rock solid.

[Carp4Cy]

Close could definitely be 2027 instead of 2026, or 2028 if player development doesn't proceed as hoped in 2026.

If player development doesn't proceed as hoped in 2026, that's a massive problem. We've put all our eggs in that basket.

They Can't just say... 2027, or 2028 if we fail for another year at our jobs and expect anyone to just say OK to that.

[Bubble4427]

Chaim has never called it a rebuild. The media, especially Bernie, has.
I think we will compete this year. He’s clearing the roster but he’s got a plan and will have money to spend.

I've been in agreement w/you FS.

Once the dust settles and all the trades are completed I think the franchise will be in a much better place and (IMO) the 2026 squad will be better than the 2025 team by anywhere from 5 - 10 games!

Lotta deadweight is gone (Mikolas/Fedde soon NADO too?) and while we'll likely lose a good player in Donny, they'll add possibly an even better player in JJW!

From the same article:

“Sometimes the long term might conflict with the short term … and when those things run in opposite directions, we’re going to choose the long term because that’s where this organization needs to be,” Bloom said. “We’re trying to get back to a certain place and stay there. History has shown the way the Cardinals have always done that is with their young, talented core.”

The important thing is Bloom won't lose sight of the L-T plan even if he still wants to compete in 2026, that's rock solid.

Bloom cuts salary, it’s what he did in Boston.
The Cardinals lost their TV contract (50 million a year) and dropped a million in attendance…..News flash, the Cardinals will not spend money for 2-3 years …….especially not before a labor agreement is put into place.

The Cardinals are at least 3-5 years away from being competitive again, much less contenders.

[mattmitchl44]

Chaim has never called it a rebuild. The media, especially Bernie, has.
I think we will compete this year. He’s clearing the roster but he’s got a plan and will have money to spend.

I've been in agreement w/you FS.

Once the dust settles and all the trades are completed I think the franchise will be in a much better place and (IMO) the 2026 squad will be better than the 2025 team by anywhere from 5 - 10 games!

Lotta deadweight is gone (Mikolas/Fedde soon NADO too?) and while we'll likely lose a good player in Donny, they'll add possibly an even better player in JJW!

From the same article:

“Sometimes the long term might conflict with the short term … and when those things run in opposite directions, we’re going to choose the long term because that’s where this organization needs to be,” Bloom said. “We’re trying to get back to a certain place and stay there. History has shown the way the Cardinals have always done that is with their young, talented core.”

The important thing is Bloom won't lose sight of the L-T plan even if he still wants to compete in 2026, that's rock solid.

I read it as - we're not going to make any decisions now to "compete" in 2026 that could compromise our ability to compete later. If a decision works for both, fine. If not, they take the path that supports the long term rebuild.