Ballpark Village opened on March 27, with a first phase completion of 120,000 square feet, and was considered a smashing success. Located inside Ballpark Village, the franchise announced the opening of the Hall of Fame Museum, with an inaugural induction class of 22 members. Ownership purchased the club’s top minor league affiliate, the Memphis Redbirds on March 28. Forbes listed the Cardinals as the eighth-most valuable franchise in Major League Baseball at $820 million, and their $65.2 million operating income was the highest of all 30 MLB franchises.
They finished the season with a record of 90–72 and finished first in the NL Central for the second straight year. They defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Division Series, 3 games to 1 to advance to their fourth consecutive National League Championship Series, where they played San Francisco Giants for the second time in three seasons. They lost in five games to the Giants and were eliminated.
The day after the 2013 World Series ended, October 31, a total of five Cardinals players became free agents: outfielder Carlos Beltrán, starting pitcher Chris Carpenter, shortstop Rafael Furcal, relief pitcher Edward Mujica, and starting pitcher Jake Westbrook.
Ownership and club officials
December 30, 2013: Promoted Gary LaRocque to franchise farm director.
December 30: Promoted Chris Correa to director of baseball development.
December 30: Appointed Tony Ferreira to assist LaRocque.
December 30: Appointed John Vuch as director of baseball administration.
December 30: Promoted Linda Brauer to senior administrative assistant to the general manager.
December 30: Expanded Matt Slater’s role as the team’s director of player personal to oversee the Cardinals’ “new initiative of emerging markets”.
January 8, 2014: Received clearance to purchase their AAA Minor League Baseball franchise affiliate, the Memphis Redbirds, from the Memphis Redbirds Foundation (MRF).
March 28, 2014: The deal to purchase the Memphis Redbirds was finalized.
April 12: Extended general manager (GM) and senior vice president (SVP) John Mozeliak for two additional years through the 2018 season. It was the second extension in two years. He had served in this position since October 2007. If he will have served the length of the extension, he would have become the third-longest tenured GM in franchise history, surpassed only by Bing Devine (18 years, two stints), and Walt Jocketty (14 years).
Management and coaches
November 7, 2013: Promoted Tim Leveque to minor league pitching coordinator, Dann Bilardello to manage the Palm Beach Cardinals of the Florida State League, and Joe Kruzel to manage the Peoria Chiefs of the Midwest League. Reassigned Johnny Rodríguez to manage the Johnson City Cardinals of the Appalachian League.
November 12: Assistant hitting coach Bengie Molina accepted a position as a first base coach and catching instructor with the Texas Rangers.
November 20: Extended manager Mike Matheny’s contract by three years through 2017.
December 17: Hired David Bell to be the assistant hitting coach.
Broadcasters
December 8, 2013: Agreed to terms with Tim McCarver to comment for telecasts in 30 select games in 2014.
January 13, 2014: Agreed to terms with Mike Shannon for a minimum extension of two years, exact length not specified.
Hitters
October 31, 2013: Right fielder Carlos Beltrán and shortstop Rafael Furcal filed for free agency.
November 5: Outrighted outfielders Adron Chambers, Brock Peterson, and catcher Rob Johnson from the 40-man roster to the minor leagues, making them free agents.
November 5: Extended a qualifying offer (QO) of $14.1 million and one year to Beltrán.
November 9: Beltrán officially declined the QO.
November 18: Signed free agent infielder Scott Moore and catcher Ed Easley and assigned them to the AAA Memphis Redbirds, and invited them as non-roster players to the major league spring training camp.
November 22: Traded third baseman David Freese and relief pitcher Fernando Salas to the Los Angeles Angels for outfielders Peter Bourjos and Randal Grichuk.
November 24: Signed free agent shortstop Jhonny Peralta to a four-year deal through 2017 worth $53 million total. It started with $15.5 million in 2014, $15 million, $12.5 million and finally $10 million in 2017. Without a qualifying offer from the Detroit Tigers, the Cardinals were not required to return a first-round draft pick.
December 16: Signed second baseman Mark Ellis to a one-year contract on December 15 for $5.25 million, plus an additional $1 million in incentives.
January 6, 2014: Claimed outfielder Rafael Ortega off waivers from the Texas Rangers.
March 7: Signed infielder Aledmys Díaz to a four-year contract worth $8 million.
Pitchers
October 31, 2013: Right-handed starting pitcher (RHP) Chris Carpenter and right-handed relief pitcher Edward Mujica filed for free agency.
October 31: Declined team option on RHP Jake Westbrook for $9.5 million and bought it out for $1 million, making him a free agent.
November 20: Chris Carpenter announced his retirement as a player.
November 22: Traded reliever Fernando Salas and third baseman David Freese to the Los Angeles Angels for outfielders Peter Bourjos and Randal Grichuk.
December 2: Declined to tender relief pitcher John Axford, making him a free agent.
December 11: Signed free agent minor league reliever Ángel Castro to a one-year contract and added him to the 40-man roster.
February 6, 2014: Signed free agent reliever Pat Neshek to a minor league contract with an invite to spring training.
March 26: Signed free agent reliever David Aardsma to a minor league contract and an invite to spring training