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ST. LOUIS -- While trying to illustrate how baseball has changed so dramatically through the years and generations of the sport, Cardinals chairman and CEO Bill DeWitt Jr. recalled a sign that his late father told him about that always sat strategically on the desk of Hall of Fame executive Branch Rickey.

Then, in a moment of self-reflection and candor, DeWitt pointed out how his Cardinals had dropped the ball in many ways while failing to adapt with Rickey¡¯s message and today¡¯s times. The sign owned by Rickey -- a Columbia, Mo., native and a former player and manager for the St. Louis Browns while working with DeWitt¡¯s dad -- read: ¡°Get the players and the rest will take care of itself.¡±

¡°In today¡¯s world, you would say, ¡®Get the ballplayers and develop them and the rest will take care of itself,¡¯¡± DeWitt Jr. said earlier in the week when publicly addressing the Cardinals¡¯ plans to ¡°reset¡± the franchise around young players instead of pricey free agents in 2025. ¡°Over the last number of years, the investment in developing has really expanded dramatically. To be honest, we were a little behind in that regard. We¡¯ve fixed it and I think it will pay off for us.¡±

Hesitant to dive fully into rebuilding mode over the past three decades because of a desire to remain competitive for a 12th World Series crown and to satiate a rabid fanbase that usually packs 3 million fans yearly into Busch Stadium, the Cardinals finally made the bold move to shift gears this offseason. Instead of chasing free agents and difference-making trade targets who could potentially help them end a drought that has seen them go 11 seasons without winning an NL pennant and five seasons without a playoff series victory, the Cardinals instead turned their focus inward.

They named a 2026 successor for president of baseball operations John Mozeliak in Chaim Bloom, someone known throughout baseball as a strong builder from within from his stints with the Rays and Red Sox. They recruited Rob Cerfolio (Minor League player development and performance) and Larry Day (farm director) from the Guardians, a franchise that has become one of the gold standards of Minor League development. Carl Kochan (director of performance) and Matt Pierpont (director of pitching) were also added, and dozens of others in analytics and scouting were promoted to more prominent positions.

By Mozeliak¡¯s best estimate, the Cardinals have upped their investment in their farm system by ¡°20 to 25 percent¡± by hiring more evaluators and delving deeper into technology.

As for resetting the roster, the Cards didn¡¯t pick up contract options for veteran pitchers Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson and they let Paul Goldschmidt and Andrew Kittredge walk away in free agency. Already, they have trimmed $50 million off the payroll, and that number could more than double if Nolan Arenado¡¯s $74 million contract is dealt in the coming weeks.

Suddenly, a Cardinals franchise that has always prided itself on not using the big league level for development is months away from trotting out an Opening Day lineup dominated by youth and inexperience. Position players Masyn Winn, Nolan Gorman, Jordan Walker, Michael Siani, Victor Scott II, Pedro Pag¨¦s and Iv¨¢n Herrera over here and pitchers Andre Pallante, Matthew Liberatore, Michael McGreevy, Gordon Graceffo and Ryan Fernandez over there.

Forget grabbing a scorecard to identify the bevy of young players; instead, fans might want to check the IDs of the baby-faced ¡®Birds.

This youth movement, DeWitt insisted, is the way to a bigger and brighter future for the Cardinals. Continuing the way the franchise was operating, with veteran free agents used to patchwork a lagging farm system, was no longer sustainable.

¡°You have to be realistic with where you are in the cycle,¡± DeWitt said. ¡°We¡¯ve had great teams and great players. We¡¯ve made every effort to have the best team we can have, but it¡¯s at a sacrifice. We haven¡¯t had Draft choices because we¡¯ve lost them when we signed players.

¡°The best way to build a championship club, in my view, is to have good young players coming through the system. When you go a period of time when you don¡¯t have the luxury of early Draft choices, it¡¯s very difficult. You can¡¯t just spend your way into it. There is a balance there.¡±

Added team president Bill DeWitt III, who knows trying to spend like large-market teams such as the Dodgers, Yankees, Mets and Phillies will never be sustainable: ¡°I think the way to build a sustained competitive window is to have good, improving, cost-controlled players that you can supplement when the system falls off. ¡­ We¡¯re hoping to go on a run like we did the last 20 years. There are no guarantees, but that¡¯s what we¡¯re trying to build again.¡±