The St. Louis Cardinals currently sit 4th in the National League Central with a record of 61-64, 18 games back from the division lead, and currently amid a 5-game winless streak. While not expecting a World Series ring and a dominant season from the team, the current trajectory of the organization is making fans not quite fond of management.
The reason fans are upset can be dumbed down into one word: Inaction. St. Louis signed 1 major league free agent, Phill Maton, who was one of three bullpen arms traded during the July 31st Trade Deadline. Maton, Helsley, and Matz all departed for a haul of promising prospects, but fans expected more selling. Many fans shared an “All or nothing” sentiment regarding the deadline: if you’re going to sell, sell big. Knowing that the team wouldn’t compete this season, it would make sense to sell high on players like 2nd Baseman Brendan Donovan or LF Lars Nootbaar, but they stayed on the team as the deadline passed into the rearview mirror.
Another point of inaction comes from the farm system. Standout performers like 2024 4th overall pick LHP Quinn Matthews and 2024 5th overall pick JJ Wetherholt have seemingly solved the puzzle that is Triple-A ball. Yet, when CF Victor Scott II went down with a sprained ankle and onto the 10 IL, Nathan Church got the call to the bigs. Church has been stellar in AAA, but fans showed anger regarding the move because Church doesn’t seem to be a part of the future core the way Wetherholt and Matthews are.
A lack of free agent signings, a half-in, half-out strategy at the deadline, and reluctance to call up young talent in a throw-away season have fans scratching their heads at GM John Mozealiak and Owner Bill Dewitt II.
Fans have not only expressed their disdain on social media and online, but they’ve also shown their opinions by the number of empty seats in Busch Stadium this season. To say attendance is down would be an understatement. From the opening at Busch Stadium II in 2006 until 2024, paid attendance never fell below 30,000 of the 46,000-seat capacity. In 2024, however, attendance dropped under 30,000 multiple times. This season, it’s even worse; some ticket sales numbers are dropping below 20,000.
A large disconnect has formed between Cardinal fans and upper management, and the only way to fix it may be a serious change.