This St. Louis Cardinals 2016 preview was co-authored by Mike Maffie and Nick Kirby.
The Cardinals head into 2016 as the three-time defending champions in the NL Central. They won 100 games in 2015, and they needed every win to win the division. The Pirates and Cubs won 98 and 97 games respectively, and those two teams met in the NL wild card game. The Cardinals would eventually lose to the Cubs in four games in the NLDS. The Cardinals won the first game of the series, but the Cubs offense took over the series from there.