The Cardinals are staring at the end of the road in the playoff race, but there’s still one more way to make life miserable for Milwaukee.
With nine games left, St. Louis is one loss - or one San Diego Padres win - away from being eliminated from postseason contention. The bigger picture has already shifted, and the focus now is on what the Cardinals can still salvage before the season closes.
That includes a final road series against the Brewers, a matchup that suddenly carries spoiler value. St.
Louis already played that role earlier this month against the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox, and it can do it again in a more indirect way. Milwaukee has wrapped up the National League Central and is headed to the playoffs, but the Brewers still have something to chase.
They own the best record in Major League Baseball, yet the Dodgers are only two games back. If that race stays tight, the Cardinals could take a bite out of Milwaukee’s push for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
So even if the postseason door shuts by then, the Cardinals still have reason to come out swinging. They can still make the Brewers sweat a little before October begins.
For now, St. Louis sits at 75-78 entering the series against the Nationals.
After that comes Pittsburgh to open the final road trip, which means the next stretch isn’t especially daunting before the Cardinals reach Milwaukee for the last time. That gives them a chance to build some momentum first.
Of course, there’s no guarantee of that. A sweep by the Nationals would knock out any hope of finishing with a winning record. But if the Cardinals can catch fire over their next two series, they could still arrive in Milwaukee with a little something to protect and a little something to prove.
It would take a strong finish, but the path is still there. St. Louis has finished below .500 in two of the last three seasons, and it can still avoid doing that for the third time in four years.
For a rebuilding club, getting over the .500 line would matter. It would give the Cardinals a real boost heading into 2027.
In Other News...
Cardinals Just Cleared The Way For A Third Base Battle
The Cardinals trimmed their infield picture by releasing Ramon Urias after he had been designated for assignment, a move that further reshapes the clubs options at third base heading into the offseason. Urias was limited to 43 games this season because of elbow injuries, and his time in St. Louis never really got on track offensively, as he hit .151 with four home runs in 100 plate appearances.
His departure leaves the Cardinals with a clearer runway to sort out the hot corner from within, and it adds another layer to a position that already figures to draw plenty of attention in camp. St. Louis has several internal candidates to consider, so the release does not settle the spot so much as it opens the door wider for a competition that will be worth watching when the roster starts taking shape for next season. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Lose Joshua Baez As Another Roster Shift Begins
Joshua Baezs season ended before it ever really got going in St. Louis, with the young outfielder landing on the 10-day injured list because of a left oblique strain. The Cardinals have been juggling their roster as the year winds down, and this move fits into a larger stretch of housekeeping that also included the release of infielder Ramon Urias and the activation of JJ Wetherholt from the injured list.
Cesar Prieto has been brought up as part of the reshuffle, and the Cardinals now have two open spots on their 40-man roster as the offseason picture starts to take shape. With more changes expected to come, the Baez injury is only one piece of a broader roster reset that could continue to unfold in the coming weeks. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Fans Just Got A New Reason To Trust The Plan
Oliver Marmols upbeat view of the Cardinals direction adds another layer to a fan base that has spent the last stretch waiting for the club to get back to its standard. Even with the recent playoff absences hanging over the conversation, the message out of the dugout is that the organization believes it has a workable system and a clearer path forward than it did a year or two ago.
For Cardinals followers, the appeal is less about a quick fix than the sense that the front office is trying to assemble something sustainable. The longer view points toward a roster that could be in the postseason mix by 2027, which is still more projection than promise, but it is enough to keep the conversation centered on progress instead of frustration. [Read more 🡒]