The official start of Major League Baseball's offseason typically occurs with general manager meetings held in early November. Although large-scale transactions do not often occur here, the framework, players and interest levels are assessed by rival GMs.

The offseason started early for the St. Louis Cardinals. Gary LaRocque announced his retirement in September, Turner Ward was fired in early October and president of baseball operations John Mozeliak has already laid out his succession plan, with Chaim Bloom taking the reins in 2026 and beyond.

Due to missing the playoffs, the Cardinals were able to focus on the offseason and the 2025 season a little earlier than other teams.

There's one cloud hanging over the front office this offseason, and it's in the form of finances. With Diamond Sports Group shedding more teams this offseason while also being open to renegotiating with existing teams, owners fear the Cardinals will lose a lot of money this offseason that they were counting on.

How much money are the Cardinals losing due to the chaos on the Regional Sports Network?

According to reports from Fox 2 News and Martin Kilcoyne, the Cardinals will lose approximately $66 million annually due to the bankruptcy of Bally Sports and Diamond Sports Group.

How much money flows through free agency?

Technically there are several answers to this question. JP Hill from Viva El Birdos has done some calculations on the 2025 payroll, and there are two routes you can take. If the Cardinals decline options on Lance Lynn, Kyle Gibson and Keynan Middleton, their total guaranteed contracts would be $115.2 million. If they accept the options on these three players, their payroll will be $142.2 million. That's a difference of $27 million.

Paul Goldschmidt, Andrew Kittredge and Matt Carpenter are all free agents; their total salaries from 2024 are just over $29 million. When you combine that amount with player options, the Cardinals will save just over $56 million on free agents alone starting in 2024.

If the owners' goal is to break even, they are still $10 million in the red. Where does this difference come from?

This is where reports of the team looking to trade veterans come into play. Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley is scheduled to receive $6.9 million in 2025, Nolan Arenado is scheduled to receive $32 million next year, Willson Contreras will make $18 million. and Sonny Gray's salary rises to $25 million. Trading one of these four veterans will ease some of the financial burden.

What can fans expect in free agency?

With the financial situation already tight, free agency is likely to be a bit boring this offseason. The DeWitt family likely won't cut $66 million from the payroll this offseason; This is not a practical way to manage a baseball team. However, they will try to keep the payroll as low as possible. If Lynn, Gibson and Middleton's options are not picked up and the team passes on an expensive veteran, they could fill those spots via free agency.

It's highly unlikely that the Cardinals will target big-name players like Corbin Burnes, Juan Soto, Alex Bregman and even Max Fried. Rather, expect John Mozeliak to keep an eye on second and third tier players like Sean Manaea, Luis Severino, Jose Quintana and JD Martinez. The 2025 squad will largely consist of internal players who will see promotions.

We as fans knew that payroll would be cut this offseason, but a look at the financials makes it clear that the Cardinals may have to make more cuts than originally expected due to the bankruptcy of Diamond Sports Group. It's possible the Cardinals could make up some of the lost money by renegotiating or putting together their own TV package.

If that's the case, there's a chance the Cardinals could retain their four big veterans while also adding some free agents to the roster. Either way, you can expect the 2025 and 2026 rosters to be filled with internal, young players, and that might not be a bad thing after all.