Best Podcast in Baseball

If you sensed some melancholy from both the Cardinals as they announced trading a Hall of Fame-caliber player to Arizona and also from that player, Nolan Arenado, as he described feeling "in the way" where once he expected to retire, that's fair. There was that disappointment on both sides as what could have been came to an end. In a brand new episode of the Best Podcast in Baseball, St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold and editor Nathan Mills discuss the conclusion of a trade more than a year in the making and potentially a streak that stretches back more than a century. For more than 100 consecutive years, without pause, the Cardinals have had a Hall of Fame player or manager in uniform with the team, and that streak could end with 2025. Or, it will be a young player who has yet to emerge as an All-Star who we'll discover in hindsight continued it. The Cardinals reach their annual Winter Warm-up after trading their third namebrand All-Star of the offseason and facing a difficult task of selling a team to a fan base that already had a record-low appetite for purchasing tickets. The pulse of the fans will be on display during the weekend Warm-up, but less clear is how the Cardinals will promote their future and what jerseys will fans be able to purchase. Mills and Goold discuss that and more, like who takes over at third base for the Cardinals and who should take over at third to excite the fans. The podcast concludes with one things fans can look forward to doing in 2026 and how that one thing, voting Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina into the team's Hall of Fame, can be used to create an event that will thrill Cardinals Nation as well give the current Cardinals a feel of what the ballpark is like at its best. Halls of various fames become a recurring theme of the podcast, allowing Goold to note there may not be a Hall of Fame at his high school but he can totally brag about being in class with a future astronaut, Jack Fischer. More Post-Dispatch podcasts.  Please consider subscribing. In its 13th season as one of the first and most widely heard podcasts on baseball and the Cardinals, the Best Podcast in Baseball has reached a new season-high with 30 episodes. Each episode is sponsored weekly by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and lead baseball writer Derrick Goold.

A discussion the Cardinals and a chilly Hot Stove eventually ignites with this completely unrelated question: How far into your list of the best players in the history of Major League Baseball do you get before mentioning Rickey Henderson? He's the all-time leader in runs, he's the greatest leadoff hitter in the game's history, and he almost lapped everyone but Lou Brock when it comes to career stolen bases.  The name of the game is scoring runs, and few (if any) did it better than Henderson. That's part of the discussion with Matt Snyder, CBS sports writer and author of the new book, "The Leadoff Man: The history of, the evolution of, and fun with the greatest catalyst in sports." (The book is available here.) In his book, Snyder chronicles the changing nature of the leadoff spot, from the speedy contact hitters of yore to the bashers and mashers of the modern game, from the tradition of putting infielder there regardless of their ability to get on base to the analytics of prioritizing the most at-bats for the player who makes the fewest outs. Henderson leads the way with a style of play that was both ahead of his peers and ahead of its time. At about the 23-minute mark, the conversation speeds from leading men to discussing the current offseason and the Cardinals' willingness to trade their leadoff man, Brendan Donovan. The Hot Stove has been sluggish, even stagnant. And that prompts an impromptu suggestion for how to spur deals during the winter meetings with tools already present in the current Collective Bargaining Agreement. No cap needed. Although talk about a cap is going to dominate the next 11 months, and that is where the podcast hurries toward its conclusion by describing how it's not the tycoon-like Dodgers that signal the lack of competitive balance and economic concerns about the game. The Cardinals could be the canary. To which, Snyder flips the question: How deep into a list of the most recognizable baseball teams does one get before naming the Cardinals? More Post-Dispatch podcasts.  Please consider subscribing. In its 13th season as one of the first and most widely heard podcasts on baseball and the Cardinals, the Best Podcast in Baseball has reached a new season-high with 30 episodes. Each episode is sponsored weekly by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and lead baseball writer Derrick Goold.

There should be ballads written about Willson Contreras' brief time with the Cardinals. From his arrival as the All-Star eager for the challenge of following Yadier Molina, to that weird week when he took fly balls in left field and stopped catching, to the injuries and fractures and ultimately his move to first base, out from behind home plate without skipping a beat at the plate. Contreras brought both joy and fury to the Cardinals' lineup and clubhouse, and at some point his absence will be felt by the teammates who remain. But he won't be a alone. In a brand new Best Podcast in Baseball, recorded on Christmas Eve, Post-Dispatch editor Nathan Mills and baseball writer Derrick Goold discuss the Cardinals' counterintuitive shopping list for the holidays and what is missing from it and possibly from the clubhouse during his reboot of an organization. The Cardinals traded a starter (Sonny Gray) only to sign a starter (Dustin May) a few weeks later; they traded a right-handed bat from the middle of the order (Contreras) only to suggest a few hours later that they would now look for a right-handed bat to add to the roster. The Cardinals are swapping All-Stars for pitching depth and then looking to replace those veterans with players on shorter-term deals or with more control and less cost. What's missing from those moves is the leadership and experience that the Cardinals have long championed as part of their continuity, as part of their identity as a club. And more trades ahead could mean the departure of Brendan Donovan, who personifies the way the Cardinals like to play and be in the clubhouse; JoJo Romreo, the seasoned reliever in the bullpen; and Nolan Arenado, the future Hall of Famer and Gold Glove-cornerstone at third.  Mills and Goold discuss what happens when a young group of players isn't inheriting expectations but tasked with trying to grow them. More Post-Dispatch podcasts.  Please consider subscribing. In its 13th season as one of the first and most widely heard podcasts on baseball and the Cardinals, the Best Podcast in Baseball has reached a new season-high with 30 episodes. Each episode is sponsored weekly by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and lead baseball writer Derrick Goold.

More Post-Dispatch podcasts.  Please consider subscribing. As the Cardinals have retreated from annual October appearances they have also faded from the national spotlight. They haven't been historically bad. They haven't been as good as their recent history. Jordan Shusterman, senior writer at Yahoo! Sports and host of Baseball Bar-B-Cast, begins a converation on a brand new Best Podcast in Baseball there: Their absence from the national conversation and what will get them back. The answer, of course, is identifying what current players must be a part of the next contending core. That drives this new episode of the long-running Cardinals podcast. When Shusterman joined BPIB and host Derrick Goold for this recording, he entered his name as "#1 Jimmy Crooks Fan," and that fondness for the Cardinals' left-handed hitting catching prospect came up as the two baseball writers tracked the list of teams that have missed the postseason in the same years as the Cardinals. One of those teams -- the San Francisco Giants -- is not only the subject of a forthcoming article by Shusterman but also one of the teams interested in the Cardinals' Brendan Donovan and also a team that shares a standout trait with the Cardinals. Both clubs featured Hall of Fame caliber catchers as their cornerstones and have faded in the years since Buster Posey and Yadier Molina retired. The podcast also includes a discussion on sleeper picks for the future core and how lefty Liam Doyle, the Cardinals' first-round pick in the recent draft, could wake up the ballpark with his debut and personality, if the performance is there to match. He's compared to a closer, just at the start of the game. Plus, did Cardinals' fatigue contribute to the Cardinals' drift out of the national headlines? In its 13th season as one of the first and most widely heard podcasts on baseball and the Cardinals, the Best Podcast in Baseball has reached a new season-high with 30 episodes. Each episode is sponsored weekly by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and lead baseball writer Derrick Goold.

More Post-Dispatch podcasts.  Please consider subscribing. Back from Orlando, Florida, and the annual Winter Meetings and into the chill of St. Louis, Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold shares with editor Nathan Mills what he learned about the Cardinals stoking the hot stove for a busy few weeks heading toward the holidays. The Cardinals gave a glimpse into their enhanced scouting staff and expanded view of the marketplace as well as revealed how they may look to add the same roles they've been looking to trade and what traits they're seeking in the pitchers they continue to collect. The Brendan Donovan market is so strong that other teams are wondering what they can get for their infielders. The Willson Contreras market is starting to take shape, but will it matter if he won't accept a trade? And the Nolan Arenado market is going to be slower to develop. All of that, plus Mills sternly rebukes Goold's suggestion that the Dodgers go ahead and get it over and just trade for Mr. and Mrs. Met already and complete the Edwin Diaz trumpet-blaring entry into the ninth inning. There is also an unexpected power ranking of mascots. In its 13th season as one of the first and most widely heard podcasts on baseball and the Cardinals, the Best Podcast in Baseball has reached a new season-high with 30 episodes. Each episode is sponsored weekly by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and lead baseball writer Derrick Goold.

More Post-Dispatch podcasts.  Please consider subscribing. There is no bumper sticker, no buzzy campaign slogan that captures the challenge facing Major League Baseball and its 30 clubs as economic disparity grows and the expiration of the Collective Bargaining Agreement arrives. A complex issue requires a complex solution. Or does it? A brief conversation about the Cardinals' spending strategy and past history with free agency, based on research done for The Write Fielder newsletter, spirals into a much larger debate between Best Podcast in Baseball host Derrick Goold and guest Kevin Wheeler, of KMOX/104.1 FM. After detailing how the Cardinals got into their current predicament, the questions that follow are two-fold: Do the Cardinals need to change their approach to free agency to return to contention, and does MLB need to change its economic structure for the Cardinals to have a new approach to free agency. The debate ignites from there. Wheeler makes a compelling case for how the Cardinals needed to "swim in deeper waters" for free agency and a more conservative approach caught up with them. He adds that a team now focused on development needs to produce its own stars. Goold counters by wondering what World Series contenders have developed their star and not had to outfit the roster with free-agent moves to complete the championship-caliber roster. The Yankees may have Aaron Judge, and they used prospects to trade for Juan Soto once, but they also signed Gerrit Cole. The Kansas City Royals have a homegrown, bona fide star in Bobby Witt Jr. But what's next? That's where the economics of the game enter the conversation and Wheeler's stance that the "big boys" need to play ball for the betterment of the game, and if that means taking less or receiving a smaller cut to spur and require the spending of the smaller markets so be it. Goold makes a suggestion for pulling that off that Wheeler contends would be difficult to sell to fans who what the tangible bumper sticker, not the boring details of how it gets done. Eventually they agree on one. It's the TV deal. Wheeler's arguments that hinge on a comparison to the NBA and its salary cap format require there to be a much larger national TV deal, one closer to what the NBA has. And that is the crux of this. Once that's in place then negotiations about a salarly floor, shared revenue, and an international draft to better balance talent coming from abroad are all more tangible because the largest issue -- the growing gulch between teams -- has been bridged. In its 13th season as one of the first and most widely heard podcasts on baseball and the Cardinals, the Best Podcast in Baseball has reached a new season-high with 30 episodes. Each episode is sponsored weekly by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and lead baseball writer Derrick Goold.

More Post-Dispatch podcasts.  Please consider subscribing. From the start of the offseason and the beginning for a new front officer leader, the Cardinals have signaled their priority this winter is to accumulate talent that will help them contend in the future. They began that process by trading Sonny Gray and $20 million to the Boston Red Sox for a pair of pitching prospects, Richard Fitts and Brandon Clarke, and now the Cardinals' pursuit continues with the arrival of MLB's biggest gathering of the Hot Stove season. The Winter Meetings are coming. To discuss the Cardinals' to-do list for the Winter Meetings, KMOX/104.1 FM's Kevin Wheeler rejoins the Best Podcast in Baseball. He and BPIB host Derrick Goold discuss the Cardinals' search to trade Nolan Arenado and what happens if another winter passes without a deal; which of the players nearing free agency, such as Brendan Donovan and JoJo Romero, will help the Cardinals achieve their goal of accumulating young talent; and what does a contract extension look like for manager Oli Marmol. The significant National Baseball Hall of Fame vote set for Dec. 7 is also discussed. This is the first of two episodes because what started as a short conversation spilled into a heated debate about, oh, just the future economic structure of baseball. Look for that bonus BPIB shortly. In its 13th season as one of the first and most widely heard podcasts on baseball and the Cardinals, the Best Podcast in Baseball has reached a new season-high with 30 episodes. Each episode is sponsored weekly by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and lead baseball writer Derrick Goold.

More Post-Dispatch podcasts.  Please consider subscribing.  Two years after the Cardinals signed Sonny Gray as a free agent to headline their pitching, pitching, pitching offseason, the veteran right-handed waived his no-trade clause and renogiated his deal to allow a trade to Boston and underscore the Cardinals' new direction. Pivoting, pivoting, pivoting. In a brand new Best Podcast in Baseball, baseball writer Derrick Goold and editor Nathan Mills discuss the fallout from the Sonny Gray trade. They explore the next group of Cardinals likely to be traded with Mills giving a rundown of the left-handed batters and one left-handed pitcher that are generating interest from other teams and what players would be wisest to trade. The $20 million sent with Gray to the Red Sox in exchanage for two young talents, starters Brandon Clarke and Richard Fitts, is a sign of what the Cardinals are willing to pay for younger, cost-controlled talent. So what does that say about the Cardinals' willingness to cover millions of Nolan Arenado's contract to spur a trade of another All-Star? The discussion arrives at a juncture for the Cardinals. For years, the club and its fans have been defined by an urgency about what the game today or the move today did to help them win the next World Series. Now, the question seems to have shifted to what the move did today to help them win their next World Series -- in the future, whenever that is. During his press conference following the Gray trade, Chaim Bloom said the urgency fans expect and the long-term view the Cardinals have adopted can coexist, and he added that he welcomes the pressure such urgency puts on their daily decisions, even if the goal is in the distance. Plus! Questions from chatters and a Thanksgiving thank you to the community of BPIB listerns who have made the podast possible going back to its earliest days of recording in a attic. In its 13th season as one of the first and most widely heard podcasts on baseball and the Cardinals, the Best Podcast in Baseball has reached a new season-high with 30 episodes. Each episode is sponsored weekly by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and lead baseball writer Derrick Goold.

More Post-Dispatch podcasts.  Please consider subscribing.  Welcome to the great plains. When next Major League Baseball hosts a World Series it will have been a decade since any of thw 10 teams from the Midwest divisions have reached the Fall Classic. They've rarely had a club get as far as the championship series, and the National League Central hasn't won a game in the best-of-seven NLCS since 2018. Oh, and coming out of the pandemic the small-market teams that dot the NL and American League Central divisions have been rocked by revenue turbulence. All while the games star free agents gather at the coasts. With that as the background, Cincinnati Enquirer baseball writer Gordon Wittenmyer suggested to Post-Dispatch baseball writer and BPIB host Derrick Goold that they poll as many executives as possible at the General Manager Meetings to ask: Which team in the NL Central is most likely to be the next team to win a World Series? The answers were revealing -- not just for the task, but also for what executives view as the most likely traits a team needs to win. The "most resources," came up often as the big-city Cubs received the most votes. Here is the Post-Dispatch story that came from the poll. And here is the podcast that expands upon the poll to discuss the factors that got the divisions here, how one or more can escape the bind, and whether Major League Baseball is just going to keep soaring above fly-over country until the economic structure of the game changes. The two baseball writers dissect how the Pirates could augment a talented team with a different payroll formula, how the Brewers may lose their edge, how the Cardinals made regain theirs, how the Reds could make a push to the top, how the Cubs could financially squash the competition, and why they don't.  In the end, one of the writers makes his prediction for the NL Central team that will next win a World Series title. It's a team that just doesn't exist yet. In its 13th season as one of the first and most widely heard podcasts on baseball and the Cardinals, the Best Podcast in Baseball has reached a new season-high with 30 episodes. Each episode is sponsored weekly by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and lead baseball writer Derrick Goold.

More Post-Dispatch podcasts.  Please consider subscribing.  Before plunging into the Hot Stove season and the arrival of the GM Meetings, a look at the performances this past season by the top 12 prospects in the Cardinals system, as ranked in the annual Post-Dispatch Dozen. For several years now, baseball writer Daniel Guerrero has ranked the top 12 prospects in the Cardinals organization, but what sets this ranking apart is the eligibility (players cannot have a moment in the majors) and rubric. Each players is considered through the four Ps of Prospects: proximity to majors, overall potential, how prominent and demanding is his position, and, of course, production or performance. Guerrero joins the Best Podcast in Baseball to explain the process and discuss the 2025 PD 12. Read even more on his rankings and updates on each player here. Only one of the 12, catcher Jimmy Crooks, graduated to the majors, leaving 11 incumbents for the 2026 rankings, but there will be some changes to the rankings going into the coming season, as Guerrero and host Derrick Goold discuss. Just not at the No. 1 spot with ascending talent JJ Wetherholt. Though, No. 2 is up for grabs with recent first-round pick Liam Doyle set to throw his fastball into the mix. Also, Guerrero scoops the host on a strong sleeper pick for the 2026 PD 12. In its 13th season as one of the first and most widely heard podcasts on baseball and the Cardinals, the Best Podcast in Baseball has reached a new season-high with 30 episodes. Each episode is sponsored weekly by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and lead baseball writer Derrick Goold.

Post-Dispatch podcasts page: https://go.stltoday.com/0hfn43 Please consider subscribing: https://go.stltoday.com/9aigz5 When the World Series ends, the roster work begins, and the Cardinals have new staff and new leadership in place -- so will it mean new direction? On Oct. 31, the Best Podcast in Baseball drops, fittingly, the 31st episode of this season. And it's not meant to scare fans. Although, the two teams playing in the World Series might cause a shiver through Cardinals Nation about how far away the local club feels from the two tycoon clubs playing this Halloween for the championship.  Nathan Mills, an editor at the Post-Dispatch and co-host of the hockey podcast Net Front Presence, joins baseball writer Derrick Goold in a brand new BPIB to discuss how far away the Cardinals are from playing this late into October. Also discussed: What lessons can be taken from a World Series that features two of the top-five payrolls in the game, what pitchers fit the Cardinals needs, and what priorities the Cardinals should set for this winter when splurging and star-chasing seems unlikely. The butterfly effect of new positions and new hires for the front office is detailed, as it whether such moves reinvigorate a fanbase. Many words that begin with the prefix re- are used in the making of this podcast. In its 13th season as one of the first and most widely heard podcasts on baseball and the Cardinals, the Best Podcast in Baseball has reached a new season-high with 30 episodes. Each episode is sponsored weekly by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and lead baseball writer Derrick Goold.  

More Post-Dispatch podcasts: https://go.stltoday.com/0hfn43 Please consider subscribing: https://go.stltoday.com/9aigz5 As Toronto prepares to host Game 1 of the 121st Fall Classic, Vanderbilt graduate Tyler Kepner joins Mizzou grad Derrick Goold preview the big game this weekend -- not not the one in Nashville. The one to the north. The World Series. The two baseball writers discuss whether the Los Angeles Dodgers, who may not be ruining baseball, might just be ruining the National League. The Dodgers are playing for their ninth World Series championship -- a total that would tie them with the Boston Red Sox and Nomadic Athletics. It would also put them three titles shy of leapfrogging the Cardinals' historic trademark trait and overtaking them as the pre-eminent National League team when it comes to trophies. Author of "The Grandest Stage: A History of the World Series," Kepner offers perspective on the Dodgers' chances while also detailing what this World Series means to Don Mattingly and how the Blue Jays can overtake the favorites from Hollywood. There is a story about an autographed baseball, too. To quote Kepner: "Cue that jaunty music." Kepner joins the Best Podcast in Baseball from Toronto, where he's covering the World Series as a senior writer for The Athletic and baseball writer for the New York Times. In its 13th season as one of the first and most widely heard podcasts on baseball and the Cardinals, the Best Podcast in Baseball has reached a new season-high with 30 episodes. Each episode is sponsored weekly by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and lead baseball writer Derrick Goold.

Post-Dispatch podcasts page: https://go.stltoday.com/0hfn43 Please consider subscribing: https://go.stltoday.com/9aigz5 It's been a minute since a brand-new Best Podcast in Baseball and there's a lot to catch up on. For the first time in 18 years, the Cardinals have a new president of baseball operations, and for the first time in even longer they're talking about a team-building plan that doesn't include promises of aiming to contend for a World Series championship. That will likely mean an active winter of trades. At the same time, two prominent former Cardinals, Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina, are throwing their names in the ring for manager vacancies elsewhere, with at least two teams (and likely a third soon) entertaining Pujols as a strong candidate for their open position. And, in the past week, a former Cardinals manager Mike Shildt retired from the position with San Diego, spurring conversation about why he left both jobs abruptly and resurfacing reasons reported in the Post-Dispatch and elsewhere after his sudden firing in 2021. Former players and old conversations all swirl together to invite the question on whether to truly move in a fresh direction did the Cardinals need a stretch like this that brings closure to the past and signals the new era. Kevin Wheeler, of KMOX/104.1 FM, joins Derrick Goold for a (long overdue) new episode of BPIB to discuss that and more. The "just hanging on" kitten plays a prominent role in the conversation. In its 13th season as one of the first and most widely heard podcasts on baseball and the Cardinals, the Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored weekly by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold.  

Post-Dispatch podcasts page: https://go.stltoday.com/0hfn43 Please consider subscribing: https://go.stltoday.com/9aigz5 Throngs of Cardinals fans got accustomed to seeing successful baseball. The Cardinals got accumstomed to seeing throngs of fans. Now both are facing the prospects of neither. That's how St. Louis Post-Dispatch sports columnist Jeff Gordon puts it when he joins baseball writer Derrick Goold for this brand new Best Podcast in Baseball. The two staff writers for StlToday.com discuss the stunning lack of attendance for a four-game visit from the Pittsburgh Pirates, and how the Pirates sure do have plenty of power pitching, but they also present a cautionary tale for the Cardinals about the gravitational pull of the perpetual rebuild's black hole. There are ways for the Cardinals to pull out of that outcome. Goold likens the situation to a space launch. Sure, the Cardinals can spend time engineering and building a homegrown shuttle, but eventually it's going to take the booster rockets from spending on outside help to get it off the ground and out of low-hovering orbit.  In its 13th season as one of the first and most widely heard podcasts on baseball and the Cardinals, the Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored weekly by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold.  

Post-Dispatch podcasts page: https://go.stltoday.com/0hfn43 Please consider subscribing: https://go.stltoday.com/9aigz5 During a lengthy rain delay before the finale of the Cardinals' visit to Tampa Bay, St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold and Tampa Bay Rays baseball writer Marc Topkin discuss transfers of power on their beats and how they contribute to a clouded forecast. In St. Louis, former Rays executive Chaim Bloom is positioned to take over as president of baseball operations in the coming month, and Topkin offers insight about the role Bloom had with the Rays, where to find his fingerprints on player development, and why he just might have the best resume possible to lead the Cardinals' front office. In Tampa Bay, the Rays are paying rent at the Yankees' spring training ballpark, George Steinbrenner Field, due to hurricana damage at Tropicana Park. The Rays feel like they're perpetually on the precipice teetertottering between having strong established roots in Tampa Bay or packing up and going to another city. New ownership may change that -- but they'll need a ballpark. They appear to have a fan base, one that owes some of its interest in baseball to the Cardinals and all the decades they spent calling St. Petersburg, Florida, home for spring training. The Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored weekly by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is its 13th season. BPIB is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold.

Post-Dispatch podcasts page: https://go.stltoday.com/0hfn43 Please consider subscribing: https://go.stltoday.com/9aigz5 The Cardinals' begin their final three-series home stand of the season with a reunion. Yadier Molina returns to St. Louis for the first time since 2023 and will be in uniform for the first time since 2022 as he joins Oliver Marmol's staff for two games against the Cubs at the invitation of the manaer. Molina is the first of seven things to watch during the home stand that welcomes the Cubs, Rockies, and Yankees for nine games in 10 days. St. Louis Post-Dispatch sports columnist Jeff Gordon and baseball writer Derrick Goold list the other three things each they are looking for in the next week at Busch Stadium. Attendance is on the list, especially with two brand-name opponnents. But so is the bullpen, Jordan Walker's swing, Nolan Gorman's playing time, and in the coming weeks what appetite the Cardinals have to discuss contract extensions with any of the young players. In its 13th season as one of the first and most popular Cardinals-related podcasts, the Best Podcast in Baseball in sponsored by Closets by Design of St. Louis. BPIB is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold.

Post-Dispatch podcasts page: https://go.stltoday.com/0hfn43 Please consider subscribing: https://go.stltoday.com/9aigz5 As the Cardinals approach the onrushing July 31 trade deadline, what if the moves made (or not made) are just prelude to a larger overhaul of the organization in the opening months of Chaim Bloom's tenure leading baseball operations. A simple, direct, but essential question about whether the Cardinals four months into their "runway" season have identified the core of their next contending team prompts a lengthy discussion about what's still missing, what hasn't emerged, and what players have made their best case to be part of the foundation upon which Bloom is expected to build a contending team?  That is where the conversation between St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold and KMOX/104.1 FM host Kevin Wheeler  continues, and where it goes touches on future talents, the need for stars, and even the environment at the ballpark.  In its 13th season as one of the first and most popular Cardinals-related podcasts, the Best Podcast in Baseball in sponsored by Closets by Design of St. Louis. BPIB is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold.

Post-Dispatch podcasts page: https://go.stltoday.com/0hfn43 Please consider subscribing: https://go.stltoday.com/9aigz5 As Major League Baseball's July 31 trade deadline rapidly approaches, so does another opportunity for the Cardinals to choose a side. Are they riding this "runway" toward the future, or are they going to tighten the race for the National League's third wild card to a point that they stand pat or add on the edges of the roster? The Cardinals' trends of risk aversion and playing it down the middle is about to be challenged. And, at the same time, the trade deadline may invite more questions than they have answers. In Part 1 of an extended conversation about the Cardinals at the trade deadline (Part 1) and the Cardinals nearing the Chaim Bloom takeover (Part 2), KMOX/104.1 FM's Kevin Wheeler joins St. Louis Post-Dispatch lead baseball writer Derrick Goold to discuss all the implications of moves the Cardinals could make, and why a "soft buy" or "slight sell" may be more of the same even if either is the right move for 2025. This episode ends with a provocative question about what have the Cardinals really learned about their next generation of contenders from the season. In its 13th season as one of the first and most popular Cardinals-related podcasts, the Best Podcast in Baseball in sponsored by Closets by Design of St. Louis. BPIB is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold.  

Post-Dispatch podcasts page: https://go.stltoday.com/0hfn43 Please consider subscribing: https://go.stltoday.com/9aigz5 With Major League Baseball's July 31 trade deadline rapidly approaching, the Cardinals are still considering what direction they'll head. The front office has wished for "tough decisions" at the deadline and "excitement," while acknowledging that the way they head may not be clear 72 hours ahead of the deadline, if at all. History suggests they'll explore the nebulous middle -- neither seller nor buyer, adding to patch holes this year and beyond without giving up too much from the future for now. The wild card this season is it's John Mozeliak's last trade deadline as president of baseball operations, and is there one last trick he'd like to pull before yielding his office and desk to Chaim Bloom?  Sports columnist Jeff Gordon joins baseball writer Derrick Goold to discuss the deadline, the All-Star Game's bananas finish, and deliver his midterm grades on every corner of the Cardinals' roster. Did he grade on a curve? Or did he stick to the standards of past years? In its 13th season as one of the leading podcasts covering the Cardinals and discussing baseball, the Best Podcast in Baseball is brought to listeners weekly by Closets by Design of St. Louis. BPIB is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold. 

Post-Dispatch podcasts page: https://go.stltoday.com/0hfn43 Please consider subscribing: https://go.stltoday.com/9aigz5 It has been more than a generation since the Cardinals picked in the top five for the MLB Draft, and in a week the Cardinals have a chance for a transformative selection that could come define their next era. A confluence of events meet them at the MLB Draft in Atlanta on Sunday as they hold the No. 5 pick a year after taking J.J. Wetherholt at No. 7, they are deep into a transition year with a new front office leader poised to take over, and they are certain to have access to one of the top three college pitchers available in this draft.  To capture and explore this moment in Cardinals' draft history, Baseball America editor in chief J.J. Cooper joins the Best Podcast in Baseball. With St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold, Cooper discusses the scope of talent available in the 2025 draft, trends that suggest where the Cardinals will look, and the upside of the talent likely available to them at No. 5. Matt Holliday's son, Ethan, is not expected to get past the Colorado Rockies at No. 4. If he does get to No. 5, the Cardinals are poised to select him. If not, there will be a high-ceiling high school infielder available, an established college shortstop available, or at least one of the three top college lefties. Cooper and Goold discuss how the choice could reveal the Cardinals' view of their ability to contend. Florida State lefty Jamie Arnold would be a pick that reaches the majors within 12 months as more and more early picks are doing. Oklahoma high schooler Eli Willits, Reggie's son, would be a longer-term pick who might impact the Cardinals most as they enter the 2030s. Baseball America will flood the zone with coverage from the MLB Draft that begins in primetime Sunday night from Atlanta and concludes Monday. Follow Baseball America on YouTube for recent conversations about sleeper prospects in the minors, including Cardinals' Class AA starter Ixan Henderson.  The Post-Dispatch will be present at the draft to bring coverage of the Cardinals' first pick and then coverage throughout the week from the All-Star Game festivities at Atlanta's Truist Park.  In its 13th season as one of the go-to podcasts on Cardinals baseball, the Best Podcast in Baseball is sponsored by Closets by Design of St. Louis. It is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold.