What a strange offseason it was for the St. Louis Cardinals. Following a mediocre 2024 season (83-79), the Memphis Redbirds’ parent club announced a new day had arrived, one in which development will be emphasized over spending for the big-league roster. One superstar was allowed to leave as a free agent (first-baseman Paul Goldschmidt is now a New York Yankee) and the Cardinals tried to trade another (third-baseman Nolan Arenado exercised his contract’s no-trade clause at least once and remains a member of the team). The most significant addition St. Louis made is the signing of relief pitcher Phil Maton in mid-March. Busch Stadium ticket sales did not spike.
Perhaps most strange was the announcement that Chaim Bloom will succeed John Mozeliak as the Cardinals’ president of baseball operations … but not until after the 2025 season. So the man many consider responsible for a two-year postseason drought (Mozeliak) is calling the shots while Bloom is the most interested observer in three counties. Rob Cerfolio (formerly with the Cleveland Guardians) is now in charge of player development for St. Louis and Larry Day (also a former Guardian administrator) is the franchise’s new farm director.
Some change, but lots of the same. The 2025 Cardinals will be at AutoZone Park Monday for an exhibition game against the Redbirds, the first such “Battle of the Birds” since 2019, a year when catcher Yadier Molina was still the Face of the Franchise for St. Louis, one that ended in a trip to the National League Championship Series for the Cardinals. Alas, the Cardinals have won precisely one postseason game since 2020 and Molina retired after the 2022 campaign.
Many of the Cardinals we’ll see play in Downtown Memphis have been here before as Redbirds on their way up. Alec Burleson won an International League batting title in 2022. A pair of IL home run titles seem to have finally earned first-baseman Luken Baker a promotion. Nolan Gorman, Ivan Herrera, Brendan Donovan, and Lars Nootbaar will all see regular at-bats for St. Louis this season, and all cut their teeth at AutoZone Park. Shortstop Masyn Winn set a Redbirds record for runs scored (99) in 2023 before leading the Cardinals in WAR and becoming a finalist for a Gold Glove as a rookie in 2024.
On the Redbirds’ side of things, Ben Johnson is back for his sixth season as manager and will surpass Chris Maloney for most career wins with the franchise when Memphis earns its 20th victory. Quinn Mathews — Baseball America’s 2024 Minor League Pitcher of the Year — should anchor the Redbirds’ pitching rotation and his battery mate is likely to be Jimmy Crooks, the 2024 Texas League MVP. Now a member of the Cardinals’ 40-man roster, outfielder Matt Koperniak is eager for his big-league debut after being named an International League All-Star following a 2024 season that saw him hit .309 for Memphis.
This will be season number 25 for AutoZone Park (remember the 2020 minor-league season was canceled for pandemic reasons). Once the gold standard for ballparks below the majors, the facility is showing some wear and Redbirds president Craig Unger has leaned on the City of Memphis to fund significant improvements. AutoZone Park was left out of the infusion of state funds for renovations to Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium and FedExForum. To date, the ballpark is awaiting a financial booster. (Questions about funding plans for the stadium were not answered by the City of Memphis.)
Come Monday night, it will be about baseball on the field. This is the ninth season St. Louis has opened with an exhibition game at AutoZone Park. Among the previous eight, six ended with the Cardinals in the playoffs. Opening Day for the Cardinals comes Thursday when they host the Minnesota Twins. The Redbirds’ regular season begins Friday in Louisville, with the home opener April 1st against the Buffalo Bisons.
