Thursday, August 07

LOS ANGELES -- Sellers at the MLB Trade Deadline two of the last three seasons -- something the franchise hadn’t done at all in the three decades prior -- the Cardinals certainly would be justified in shifting their focus for the final two months of the 2025 season to development mode and offering up unlimited playing time to their young players.

Then, moments like the one from Monday night at historic Dodger Stadium happen, and they reveal the fallacy of turning completely to development mode at the big league level.

Veteran right-hander Sonny Gray’s sweeper looked like a video game pitch with how it darted toward the dirt and left even greats like Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman seemingly swatting at flies. Yohel Pozo, arguably the best feel-good story in baseball, going from homeless in 2020 to the Cardinals’ top bat off the bench in 2025, delivered his sixth hit and seventh RBI as a pinch-hitter to provide the game’s winning run. Then, there were suburban Los Angeles natives Lars Nootbaar and JoJo Romero living out their childhood dreams of starring at Dodger Stadium -- Nootbaar with a spectacular diving catch after covering 116 feet and Romero locking down his second save in a Cardinals bullpen that no longer features Ryan Helsley, Phil Maton or Steven Matz.

Sure, the Cardinals could have promoted a top prospect like Quinn Mathews (Cards' No. 2 prospect) for the start that Gray turned into a masterclass of pitching. They could have given that ninth-inning, pinch-hit at-bat to young hopefuls Jordan Walker or Nolan Gorman, but instead they opted for Pozo, who has delivered time and time again. And they could have had one of their many young relievers trying to close out the game or Walker in right field trying to duplicate the all-out hustling play Nootbaar pulled off.

Even though the Cardinals are on the fringes of competitiveness in the NL Central and Wild Card races, there is still tremendous value in winning, as manager Oliver Marmol pointed out following St. Louis’ 3-2 win over the Dodgers. Winning sets the bar of expectations, and what it takes to come out on top. It shows the level of preparation and determination needed to produce at the game’s highest level. Make no mistake about it: Marmol still wants to win, and he wants to develop winning players -- even if the Cards are shifting toward more of a focus on development.

“I don’t think my job changes, because I’ve had the same approach since the beginning of the season as to what we find important,” Marmol said. “We’ve won games along the way, but not at the expense of rotating guys, [stressing] development and evaluating. We gave guys opportunities, and our staff is highly focused on growing these guys. That doesn’t change.”

The genesis of Marmol’s comments was the Cardinals' log-jammed roster and the need to continue to find development opportunities for players such as Thomas Saggese, Gorman, Walker, and relievers Kyle Leahy, Ryan Fernandez, Matt Svanson, Andre Granillo and Riley O’Brien. Marmol made it clear that the Cardinals' lineup and reliever decisions will likely have lots of variance over the next two months as he works to try and balance development and winning.

Still, Alec Burleson will continue to be in the everyday lineup -- either in the outfield or at first base -- because of his steady production. The same goes for Iván Herrera in left field after the former catcher smashed a 428-foot homer on Monday and has been one of the team’s most consistent hitters.

As for Gorman and Saggese, they will split time at third base and the club would like to see defensive improvements from each -- Gorman with his lateral movement and Saggese with his throws across the diamond. With Nootbaar and Walker, they will rotate in right field and Nootbaar will see time in center, where he started on Tuesday. Both have seen their seasons disrupted by injuries -- “That’s an ability, right?” Marmol asked, referring to availability -- and how they play down the stretch could dictate their futures with the Cards.
 
Marmol said 2025’s final stretch differs greatly from 2023, when the club was well out of the race, and closing the season with players who not only had no future with the Cards, but many of them also weren’t bona fide MLB-level talent. The players on the field for the Cardinals this August and September are in future plans and they will be expected to be winning players, Marmol said.
 
“This lineup is what’s next and some of these guys in the ‘pen, that’s what’s next,” Marmol said. “We’re investing in what the future is going to look like and that wasn’t the case last time.”   

It will come as no surprise to long-time Cardinals fans that All-Star second baseman Brendan Donovan won the club’s Heart and Hustle Award for 2025 -- the third straight season he has captured the award. The MLB Players Alumni Association has handed out the honor over the past 20 seasons, rewarding the players “who exemplify a true passion for the game and who best embody the values, spirit and traditions of the game.”

Player alumni from each team chose the winners. At the end of the season, MLB player alumni and fans will vote to determine MLB’s Heart and Hustle Award winner. Former Cardinals winners of the league-wide award are World Series champion David Eckstein (2005), Cards legend Albert Pujols (2009) and former Cards first baseman Paul Goldschmidt (2022).

Donovan entered Tuesday tied for second in the NL in four-hit games (four) and three-hit games (12), tied for 15th in hits (112) and tied for 12th in doubles (24). He earned his first All-Star Game appearance in 2025 and recorded two hits in the NL’s victory.

“I’ve always been told to leave the game better than you found it, and I found this game in a pretty good spot, so it’s important to me to go out there and prepare, play hard and be a good example for children and future players,” Donovan said on Tuesday. “So, to be honored by our alumni, that’s pretty special.”

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