Could changes be afoot for the Cards after missing postseason again?

This story was excerpted from John Denton’s Cardinals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

DENVER -- It should become clearer in the coming days whether changes are on the horizon for a Cardinals club that will miss the playoffs for a second straight season.

President of baseball operations John Mozeliak, who was at the controls when the franchise was a dominant force in the National League from 2007-15, has one year left before his contract expires. But there remains the possibility that he could step aside or transition into a different role before then. The Cardinals are expected to address Mozeliak's situation and other matters soon after the season ends, perhaps as early as Monday, a source told MLB.com.

New direction could be needed to bring fresh perspectives to the many massive decisions the Cardinals must make in the coming weeks. To wit:

• Do they stick with manager Oliver Marmol, who led the franchise to 93 wins and an NL Central crown in 2022, but has been unable to prod the Cards into the playoffs since?

• Do the Cardinals commit fully to a rebuild around their young core -- a move that would likely result in them shedding salary (Nolan Arenado, Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras and Ryan Helsley)?

• If they are still looking to contend, what do they do with free agent Paul Goldschmidt, who is 37 years old and is coming off the worst season of his storied MLB career?

With Wednesday’s win in Colorado, the Cardinals guaranteed themselves a .500 season and they avoided the infamy of back-to-back losing campaigns over full seasons for the first time in 65 years (1958-59). To put that into perspective, the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens are the only MLB, NBA, NFL or NHL franchise with a longer stretch (80 years, 1938-42 to 2021-23) without consecutive losing seasons.

Clearly, the offseason stakes are high. But before we get there, here’s a look back at this season:

Defining moment: A 12-16 August
The Cardinals ended July at 56-52 and just five games back in the NL Central, and after acquiring starter Erick Fedde and outfielder Tommy Pham, the club felt it was poised to make a run. However, losing three out of four at Wrigley Field and getting blanked by the Mets in a makeup game sent the Redbirds reeling.

Later, a three-game sweep in Cincinnati -- a stretch in which the Cards were outhomered 10-1 -- all but erased their playoff hopes. By the end of August, the Cardinals' deficit in the NL Central had ballooned to 12 games.

What we learned: While the pitching improved, the offense regressed
The Cardinals spent most of their time and resources in the offseason addressing their pitching by signing free-agent starters Sonny Gray, Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson and trading for relievers Andrew Kittredge and Ryan Fernandez.

They left their lineup untouched and ended up paying dearly for it. Goldschmidt and Arenado showed signs of aging with their inability to drive balls, Lars Nootbaar and Contreras got injured repeatedly and promising sluggers Jordan Walker and Nolan Gorman regressed.

Entering play Thursday, the Cardinals' offense ranked 12th in the NL in runs (647) and homers (159) and 13th in RBIs (614). Remarkably, the Cardinals rank last in the NL in batting average (.226), on-base percentage (.300), slugging (.338), OPS (.638), homers (27) and RBIs (416) with runners in scoring position.

Best development: The bullpen remained steady and strong
One of the biggest decisions of the season came in Spring Training when the Cardinals concluded that Helsley would only be used in ninth innings and would only be asked to get three outs.

That decision came about because the bullpen had more depth and diversity. The additions of Kittredge and Fernandez and the growth of Matthew Liberatore, JoJo Romero and John King gave the Cards their strongest ‘pen in years.

The strength of the Cardinals' bullpen is a big reason why the Cards have gone 29-21 in one-run games. The bullpen has the NL’s fourth-best ERA (3.62) while racking up MLB’s most saves (54).

Area for improvement: Pitchers and catchers must control the running game
MLB changed its pickoff rules and increased base sizes to bring the running game back into baseball. Those changes hurt a Cards club that had trouble holding runners and throwing them out when they took off.

For a Cardinals franchise that grew accustomed to Yadier Molina controlling the running game for nearly two decades, it was shocking to see foes take such advantage of them on the bases. The Cards have thrown out just 29 of 181 base stealers (16 percent).

On the rise: Masyn Winn, shortstop
Even though Winn hit just .172 over a 37-game MLB cameo in 2023, the Cardinals went all in with the 22-year-old as their starting shortstop in '24. And, quite frankly, Winn’s season couldn’t have gone much better.

Not only is he just the fourth Cardinals rookie with at least 150 hits (153), he has hit for power (15 homers, 30 doubles and five triples), he has hit with two strikes (his 77 two-strike hits are third in MLB) and he’s lowered his strikeout rate (17.2 percent). Winn has done all of that while playing exceptional defense. Winn’s 14 Defensive Runs Saved are first in MLB among all shortstops, per FanGraphs.

Team MVP: Ryan Helsley, closer
Helsley was as close to automatic as any reliever in baseball this season. He’s saved an MLB-best 48 games in 52 opportunities, tying Trevor Rosenthal’s 2015 mark for the club record. He was perfect at Busch Stadium in 27 opportunities, and he recorded franchise records with 31 consecutive saves and 32 saves prior to the MLB All-Star Game earlier this season.

Helsley, 30, will command a hefty raise in arbitration, and deservedly so. Do the Cardinals do everything in their power to lock him up long term? Or do they look to flip him for a series of players who could patch their other holes?