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Cardinals report cards: Ownership preached fiscal responsibility. Now it’s time to spend.

Bill DeWitt Jr. went into this season preaching fiscal responsibility, given the revenue losses his franchise suffered during the pandemic. The Cardinals cut some corners, particularly with their bullpen, and that tight budgeting contributed to their first-half struggles.

The management team also opted not to spend big in free agency at shortstop and designated hitter — but those decisions weren’t as costly because Albert Pujols went on a second-half tear and Tommy Edman did a nice job filling in at shortstop. Rookies Nolan Gorman and Brendan Donovan showed notable upside at second base, too.

But when Pujols-palooza filled Busch Stadium night after night and pushed team revenues back to pre-pandemic heights, it became obvious that DeWitt could have spent more on this roster.