The 2026 National League Championship Series kicked off on Sunday night with one of the St. Louis Cardinals' biggest rivals in the mix.
St. Louis has missed the playoffs in four straight seasons. On the other hand, it has had to see the Milwaukee Brewers win four straight National League Central titles and advance all the way to the NLCS this season. On Sunday, the Brewers took down the two-time reigning champs in the Los Angeles Dodgers and now are three wins away from advancing to the World Series.
The Cardinals have a lot of work to do in order to catch Milwaukee and put themselves in World Series contention, like their NL Central rival. The Cardinals took a step in the right direction in 2026, but there's a lot of work to do and it may take more than one offseason to really contend.
Drastically Improve The Bullpen
The biggest weakness for the Cardinals in 2026 was the bullpen. Riley O'Brien was good for the majority of the season, but ran out of gas down the stretch. Gordon Graceffo was good throughout the season and finished the campaign with a 2.67 ERA in 62 appearances. Justin Bruihl had a 3.71 ERA in 73 appearances. There wasn't a lot of consistency beyond these three. That needs to change this winter.
The final four teams alive in the playoffs are the Brewers, Dodgers, Cleveland Guardians and the Tampa Bay Rays. Milwaukee finished the regular season with the third-best bullpen ERA in the league at 3.40. The Guardians had the sixth-best bullpen ERA at 3.54. The Dodgers had the ninth-best bullpen with a 3.74 ERA. The Rays had a 14th-best bullpen ERA at 3.99. The Cardinals, on the other hand, had the 20th-ranked bullpen ERA at 4.40. In the playoffs, the Brewers have the best bullpen ERA followed by the Rays at No. 3, the Dodgers at No. 5 and the Guardians at No. 6. You need to have a good bullpen to have playoff success.
Add At Least One Veteran Starter
The Cardinals finished the 2026 regular season with the 12th-ranked rotation ERA at 4.17. Plus, the Cardinals traded Dustin May to the Brewers ahead of the 2026 trade deadline. The Cardinals are loaded with intriguing young guys who could help this team for years to come, but they need at least one veteran starter with experience under their belt.
Young Guys Need To Continue To Progress
If you look at the Brewers, they are loaded with homegrown that they have developed and kept in town. The vast majority of the roster is homegrown. For the Cardinals, they have the talent in the farm system to do the same. Plus, there are young guys all throughout the big league roster. In 2026, the Cardinals saw big seasons from guys like Jordan Walker, Alec Burleson and JJ Wetherholt. St. Louis needs to continue to develop these guys, while also getting the top prospects from the minors up to the big leagues.
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