MLB 2025: St. Louis Cardinals Over/Under For Wins

• MLB oddsmakers have the 2025 St. Louis Cardinals over/under wins at 75.5
• The Cardinals were 83-79 in 2024, but that was an overachievement based on their roster, poor management, and overall play
• They had a stagnant offseason, acknowledging that they are in a transition
• Expect them to clear veteran players at the trade deadline if they can

A New Regime Will Take Charge After the Year

After the season, the Cardinals will move on from longtime President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak. Adviser and former Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom will take over.

Bloom had a stellar reputation in stat-centric circles from his work with the Rays before he went to Boston. His tenure was mediocre, and he is not remembered fondly for the terrible return when he traded Mookie Betts.

However, his job description was to cut payroll and rebuild the farm system.

That’s what he did.

And he was fired for it.

The Cardinals are bizarrely going about this with Bloom waiting in the wings to give Mozeliak a farewell tour.

Why?

This Is a Punt Year

The Cardinals have been on a downward slide since their ridiculous decision to fire manager Mike Shildt following the 2021 season. They went 90-72 that year and, surprisingly, made the playoffs, boosted by a 17-game winning streak in September.

The justification was that they wanted someone more collaborative with the front office. They hired an overmatched puppet in Oli Marmol. They won the NL Central in 2022, but it was Marmol’s deer-in-the-headlights ineptitude that caused them to be bounced by the Phillies in the Division Series.

They’ve really hit the skids since then.

This past winter, they acknowledged reality and allowed veterans Paul Goldschmidt, Kyle Gibson, Matt Carpenter, and Lance Lynn to walk. They didn’t spend any money over the winter and are giving their young players a chance to play.

They have young talent, specifically Jordan Walker, Brendan Donovan, Masyn Winn, and Lars Nootbaar. Their pitching staff is older, and likely trade candidates are veterans Sonny Gray, Erick Fedde, Miles Mikolas, and Steven Matz.

Willson Contreras was a terrible free agent signing, not because he’s played poorly, but because he’s from the archrival Cubs and wasn’t a fit. They’re stuck with him.

The Cardinals’ Over/Under Wins Will Be Higher Than 75

As entertaining as it is to see perhaps the most arrogant franchise in sports (yes, worse than the Yankees, Patriots, Lakers, and Manchester United) get its comeuppance, they have enough young talent that they will not fall to the depths of fewer than 75.5 wins.

That does not mean they are a contender, nor does it mean they’re even mediocre. They just won’t be as terrible as oddsmakers think they will be.

But they’ll be close.