Here's What Cardinals' Bill DeWitt Jr. Hopes To Accomplish By Committing To Youth

The St. Louis Cardinals shocked the baseball community after announcing plans to reset this offseason after years of poor front-office decisions.

Sadly, the Cardinals have lost their way, and this rebuilding journey is designed to eventually make St. Louis a perennial contender once again.

Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. recently discussed his franchise's future direction and he's hopeful this organizational reset will help St. Louis return to dominance.

"'The best way to build a championship club, in my view, is to have good young players coming through the system,' DeWitt said, as transcribed by MLB.com's John Denton on Thursday. "'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.'”

After moving on from several veterans in free agency this winter, the Cardinals roster is stacked with players under 30 years old. Despite how young St. Louis is, DeWitt is confident in his club's direction.

"Added team president Bill DeWitt III, who knows trying to spend like large-market teams such as the (Los Angeles) Dodgers, (New York) Yankees, (NY) Mets and (Philadelphia) Phillies will never be sustainable," Denton continued. “'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.'”

Over the last 20 years, the Cardinals have won two World Series titles and missed the playoffs and won the National League Central title eight times.

Some think it could take the Cardinals several years to return to the postseason but utility man Brendan Donovan disagrees. Could a return to the playoffs be imminent for St. Louis?