The Cardinals don’t need the 2026 NLCS to tell them how far they still are from the teams playing into October.
While St. Louis watches a division rival with four straight National League Central titles chase a World Series trip, the Cardinals are stuck sorting through the same broad issue they’ve faced for four straight seasons: the roster still isn’t built to hang with the league’s best.
The Milwaukee Brewers knocked off the two-time reigning champs in the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday and moved three wins from the World Series, a reminder of the gap St. Louis has to close.
The most obvious problem is the bullpen. Riley O'Brien handled most of the season well before fading late.
Gordon Graceffo gave the Cardinals a strong year with a 2.67 ERA in 62 appearances, and Justin Bruihl posted a 3.71 ERA in 73 appearances. Beyond that trio, the relief work just wasn’t steady enough, and that has to change this winter.
The numbers show why that area matters so much. Milwaukee ended the regular season with the third-best bullpen ERA in baseball at 3.40.
Cleveland was next among the remaining playoff teams at 3.54, followed by the Dodgers at 3.74 and the Rays at 3.99. St.
Louis checked in at 20th with a 4.40 bullpen ERA. In the postseason, the order is even starker: the Brewers have the best bullpen ERA, the Rays are third, the Dodgers fifth and the Guardians sixth.
If you want to win in October, the relief corps has to hold up.
Starting pitching also needs help. The Cardinals’ rotation finished the 2026 regular season 12th in ERA at 4.17, and the club made things thinner when it traded Dustin May to the Brewers before the deadline.
St. Louis does have a wave of young talent that could matter for years, but it still needs at least one veteran starter who has been through it.
There is a clear blueprint sitting across the division. Milwaukee has built around homegrown players it developed and kept, with most of the roster coming through its own system.
The Cardinals believe they can do that too, and the raw material is there. Their farm system has talent, and the big league roster already includes young players making noise.
In 2026, Jordan Walker, Alec Burleson and JJ Wetherholt all delivered strong seasons. The next step is straightforward: keep developing those players and keep pushing more of the top prospects from the minors into the majors.
In Other News...
Cardinals Face One Rotation Decision Fans May Not Like
The Cardinals came up short of the postseason, but the season still felt like a step forward after last offseasons selloff and the rebuild it triggered. St. Louis got encouraging production from younger players on both sides of the ball, and the organization now has a better sense of what it has while trying to sort out the next layer of the roster.
The hardest call may come in the rotation, where the club still lacks a true ace and leans heavily on an inexperienced group. Rather than chase a splashy long-term answer, the Cardinals appear more likely to keep the focus on development and look for a shorter-term veteran presence to stabilize things, even if that approach is not the one many fans would prefer. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Just Quietly Secured Two Voices This Dugout Needed
The Cardinals have quietly taken care of two important pieces of their coaching staff, keeping Jon Jay and Pop Warner in place for the 2027 season after both were on expiring contracts. For a club that has long valued continuity in the dugout, the moves help preserve a pair of familiar voices around the players, with Jay expected to keep contributing to outfield defense, baserunning and broader development work while also serving as a steady presence in the clubhouse.
Pop Warners return carries its own weight, too. He is set to enter his 27th season coaching in the Cardinals organization and remains one of the most respected third-base coaches in the game, a reassuring fixture for a team that benefits from experience as much as instruction. Even without a splashy headline, retaining both men gives St. Louis a little more stability in the places where it can matter most. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals May Get An Unexpected Shot At Royce Lewis
Third base is already on the Cardinals long-term radar as they look toward 2027, with Nolan Gorman, Thomas Saggese and Blaze Jordan all part of the internal conversation. But the position could also become a more interesting target if St. Louis decides to shop outside the organization, especially if a player with a much higher ceiling suddenly lands within reach.
Royce Lewis is the name to watch. The former No. 1 overall pick has the kind of power and positional flexibility that can change a lineup, and the Cardinals would have reason to keep tabs on him if Minnesota makes him available. His appeal is obvious enough: a talent with upside at a spot St. Louis wants to strengthen, even if the path to him opening up remains tied to a situation the Cardinals can only monitor for now. [Read more 🡒]