Late on Thursday, MLB teams that have made TV rights deals with the Bally Sports Regional Sports Networks received some bad news when it was revealed that the RSNs were headed for bankruptcy.
Teams such as the Atlanta Braves, Minnesota Twins, Miami Marlins, San Diego Padres, Arizona Diamondbacks, St. Louis Cardinals, and others, have made deals with Bally Sports, who in 2021 bought RSNs from FOX Sports.
According to David O’Brien of The Athletic, the Cardinals are a team that is projected to take one of the hardest blows as a result of this.
On Twitter, a Cardinals fan responded to O’Brien’s tweet, predicting that this will be another reason owner Bill DeWitt Jr. chooses not to spend money during offseasons.
Oh no. Now Dewitt will use this excuse for the next 5+ years why they can't spend. #stlcards https://t.co/PBqTh7x4ME
— Rinedog (@Rinedog1) January 26, 2023
For context, Cardinals fans have been frustrated with DeWitt in recent years due to the Cardinals passing on elite free agents such as Kyle Schwarber, Carlos Rodon, Justin Verlander, and others.
Perhaps a move for an elite free agent, particularly a starting pitcher, could bring the glory days of Cardinals baseball back, when the team was a perennial World Series contender.
Those days have since passed, and the Cards haven’t reached the Fall Classic since 2013, with their outdated business model failing them time and again.
Fans have grown tired of hearing the front office’s reasons for not spending big compared to teams such as the New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, and San Diego Padres, who they likely weren’t going to compete with anyways, but are teams that they could look to if they ever decide to restructure their business model.
And so, for fans who want the team to sign some higher-priced free agents, this might be bad news.
NEXT: Cardinals Add To Pitching Depth With Latest Signing
