But at what cost? Auditing Cardinals' planned payroll trim amidst a changing brand (Part 1)

Best Podcast in Baseball

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Sports, Baseball

4.8 • 673 Ratings

🗓️ 24 October 2024

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The official changes to some Cardinals' leadership roles, from the front office to the dugout, as they approach their "reset" winter continued on the eve of the World Series with the first new addition to the front office, a new coach, and a new role for an all-time great.

Kevin Wheeler, co-host of the drive-time show and baseball coverage at KMOX/1120 AM, joins the Best Podcast in Baseball to discuss with Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold the moves the Cardinals have made, the names involved -- and some of the motivations and goals driving them.

From there the conversation expands into an audit of the Cardinals strategy and financial position.

The team has advertised as cut in payroll as it bends young and reinvests in an eroded player development program, but there's more going on than just a shifting of dollars and sense. There is the potential for a huge cut in revenue that is driving some of their decisions, and is not their plan to increase spending on minor-league coaches and technology, nor the $100-million project to upgrade the Roger Dean Stadium complex in Jupter, Florida, with new player development facilities. Looming on the horizon is the possibility the Cardinals will not get some or all of the $78 million owed them from their broadcast partner for 2025 and the reality that the jackpot years ahead in their billion-dollar broadcast rights deal aren't going to come to fruition.

That shift in revenue prompts the questions that direct this podcast -- how much must the Cardinals cut, and how soon?

The answer may not be as simple as just shedding salaries.

There is a way for the Cardinals to chase their goal of accumulating young talent, clearing opportunity for in-house talent, and still cleave dollars off the payroll. And that is where this brand new podcast ends with Part 1 and will continue with Part 2.

Part 2 will drop Friday.

The Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and baseball writer Derrick Goold.

Transcript

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0:00.0	The best podcast in baseball is brought to you by Closets by Design.
0:05.6	Update your closet, garage, office, pantry, and more.
0:09.0	Imagine your home totally organized with closets by design.
0:12.6	Call 1-800 by design.
0:14.4	That's 1-800-by-design.
0:17.2	You know, this is pretty much a year you would think where everybody's kind of, I don't want to say
0:22.5	on notice because that sounds menacing, but like, no, it's a 12-month job interview. Here we go.
0:27.3	Right, because you got a new guy taking over next year. And new guy, you know, somebody that's coming in is going to want people that they think fit what they do.
0:35.1	So whether it's the manager or the coaching staff or whatever, I mean, this year is going
0:40.0	to be about performance.
0:41.2	It's not going to necessarily be about winning the World Series.
0:48.9	Hello, everybody, and welcome to the best podcast in baseball, brought to you by
0:53.9	Clause of by Design of St. Louis.
0:55.2	I'm St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derek Gould.
0:57.8	And so anything been going on here in the off season, we have a lot to catch up on with the Cardinals since their final game there in San Francisco.
1:06.5	And who better to do it with?
1:07.9	Then, of course, my friend and the great Kevin wheeler of camoax 11 20 a m co-host of the dgs
1:15.5	i see i didn't say show twice kevin aren't you proud the dgss show the dj o david glover show show
1:22.1	right see i didn't nail i nailed it you did well done sir sir. How are you? I'm good.
1:28.0	I'm good.
1:28.4	So we're recording this here on the Eve of the World Series, and we are doing so using a platform
1:35.5	that has my video up, but you don't have video.
	...

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