Greetings to ya. Today’s topic:
The Cardinals’ very weird, somewhat confusing, and awkward setup in the decision-making process for the July 31 trade deadline.
The deadline is six days away. And before dealing time expires next Thursday at 5 pm St. Louis time, what will the Cardinals have to show for it?
Outgoing president of baseball operations John Mozeliak is in charge of the trade-deadline process, which means one of four things:
1-Mozeliak will screw up again.
2-Mozeliak will do well — or maybe very well — by cashing in relievers on expiring contracts. We’re talking about Ryan Helsley, Phil Maton and Steven Matz. I would include lefty reliever JoJo Romero on the list, even though he’s under contract control through 2026. That actually gives Romero more trade value. And if Mozeliak has a solid week by mining good value in the exchange for these coveted assets, that’s a win. By securing meaningful prospects, and perhaps a young MLB starting pitcher or hitter who won’t be eligible for free agency anytime soon, it benefits incoming president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom as he settles in to improve the Cardinals. Bloom would have a deeper overall talent base to work with for the present, the near future or down the road a bit. There aren't a lot of prospects who get to the majors in a year or two,
3-Mozeliak will do something bold and daring by dealing veteran Cardinals who aren’t set to become free agents after this season.
If Mozeliak is looking to generate buzz, and do something unexpected, he could move one or multiple roster pieces. The pool of players would include names such as Lars Nootbaar, Nolan Gorman, Alec Burleson, Jordan Walker, Masyn Winn, Brendan Donovan. And he could move one of the team’s catching prospects, because the Cardinals have several good ones and there isn’t room for all of them. I have no idea if Mozeliak is inclined to do this, put he should listen to every offer that comes his way on any rostered Cardinal. And again, I'm not predicting anything when it comes to Mozeliak putting veterans on the trade market. I'm just saying (again) that it makes sense to listen.
And keep this in mind: the Cardinals must put several prospects on their 40-man roster next offseason including outfielder Joshua Baez, catchers Jimmy Crooks and Leonardo Bernal, and pitchers Cooper Hjerpe and Brycen Mautz. There are more names; you get the point. The Cardinals must clear space on the 40-man to avoid the risk of losing these or other attractive prospects in the Rule 5 draft.
4-Mozeliak could do the Mozeliak thing by staying in the safe middle …. Not doing anything big, not swinging for the fences, just little sell-off here, maybe adding a little touch-up there. Mozeliak has, in the past, been more ambitious. The trade for Erick Fedde, made last summer, is an obvious example. The deals for starting pitchers Jon Lester and J.A. Happ in 2021 reinforced an extremely thin rotation that already was crumbling. Mozeliak did a great job in landing starting pitchers Jordan Montgomery and Jose Quintana at the 2022 deadline. They were fantastic. It didn't turn out when he obtained Fedde last summer -- but Fedde was viewed as the top available on the market.
But after staying in the middle for a long time -- especially in 2025 -- I doubt that Mozeliak will leap into a trading frenzy. With Bloom assuming control, my assumption is that Mozeliak will be fine with offloading walk-year talent -- but draw the line on trading away guys that Bloom would like to have here. And I doubt that Mozeliak would deal one of the veterans that I mentioned in the No. 3 section of this column ... not unless Bloom is in on it and expresses enthusiasm for for doing it.
As he prepares to head out, being in the Mozeliak Middle is his preference and it best fits his personality. It also reflects his loss of confidence and obvious anxiety as the leader of the front office. It's will be Bloom Time soon; so why do dangerous stunts like Tom Cruise in the Mission Impossible movies? Go quietly.
I keep reading about how the Cardinals are likely headed to the “soft sell” aisle of the trade market … and that would be typical. This would be the appropriate ending of the Mozeliak Era.
I've told you about some things that I "assume" but I don’t trust it. Trading Maton, Matz and Helsley should be automatic in a market that has contenders desperately searching for relief help. There’s value to discover out there as long as Mozeliak doesn’t hedge, hesitate, or lose his nerve.
Question: Is “Mo” stewing over the idea of trading Helsley?
One of the silliest things I’ve heard is that Mozeliak may be reluctant to trade Helsley because it would infuriate the fan base and cause more fans to stay away from Busch Stadium.
WHAT? The fan base is already infuriated. The Cardinals rank an embarrassing 17th in the majors for average tickets sold to home games … so the fans are already staying away.
You know what would tick off a lot of fans? If Mozeliak won’t deal Helsley and he leaves as a free agent after the season and the Cardinals receive nothing for him when he walks. Fans would be steamed if Mozeliak eschews a final opportunity to move contract-year assets for the betterment of the franchise.
Yeah, yeah. I know. The Cardinals could opt to make a qualifying offer to Helsley, and in this scenario he could accept the automatic $21 million salary to stay for 2026. Or if he signs elsewhere, the Cardinals would be in line for draft-pick compensation.
Let's put on the brakes, OK? I'd be stunned if Chaim Bloom makes that qualifying offer because it doesn't make sense to pour that much money, even for one year, in a great closer who is now a good closer ... and showing decline in several areas ... which might make him an average closer before long.
Mozeliak didn’t trade Helsley last offseason when the closer had maximum value. Now, he has lower value following a downturn in performance. What’s next? How low will Mo go in his failure to move Helsley when it makes sense to do so? So why would a serious contender want Helsley if there are so many warning signs? Because they'd be renting him for the final two months of the regular season, and for a month (they hope) in the postseason. If a team really believes it can win the World Series -- except for that glaring void in the bullpen -- they see Helsley as a short-term solution that's worth the gamble. And these teams may have analysts who have spotted ways to improve Helsley's fastball and pitch arsenal.
The simple, easy and obvious thing to do is trade Helsley if an attractive pitch comes along.
Of course, there’s a chance of Mozeliak overthinking this and having a case of paralysis by analysis.
But if I had to make a wager? Mozeliak will trade Helsley. But I wouldn't bet a lot of money on it.
Question: what about the possibility of Mozeliak succumbing to temptation?
Should the Cardinals win 3 of 4 from the Padres this weekend, and then win 2 of 3 from the Marlins in the final series before the deadline, Mozeliak could talk himself into believing the Cardinals have a genuine chance to grab that third wild-card ticket. In that scenario, I don't think he'd make a major and costly move to add talent. But, maybe he'd be tempted to keep Maton or Helsley. But be very careful in that thinking. Should the Cardinals qualify for the tournament, the Cardinals lack the viability to last long. Unless, of course, they have an instant, miracle cure for a starting rotation that has the worst ERA (5.89) in the majors since May 30.
What I don’t understand is this: do Mozeliak and chairman Bill DeWitt really believe there will be a mad rush to buy tickets to a wild-card round playoff series? Are they really that out of touch?
Heck, back in the days when the Cardinals had tremendous fan support, we saw lots of empty seats at Busch Stadium in 2019 for the division-round series and the NLCS.
This is a peculiar situation
You have John Mozeliak on the way out, and Chaim Bloom on the way in … and Mozeliak is in charge … but he will “consult” with Bloom as trade discussions evolve.
I think I know what that means. Bloom will participate in the process in some way. And perhaps in a significant way. But since Mozeliak still the boss, and considering that Bloom is by all accounts an honorable and principled man, I wonder how much of a voice Bloom will have in this process. Or maybe the question should be: how loudly would Bloom be willing to use that voice?
Mozeliak and Bloom have a good relationship and the trust factor seems to be there. Bloom certainly had influence in the Cardinals 2025 draft, but that was more about the future … that was about drafting prospects who will get here after Mozeliak has departed.
Bloom’s influence on the draft was exciting because the Cardinals changed their philosophy on drafting pitchers, going for more power arms.
But again, that’s about prospects the Cardinals wanted for the future. It wasn’t about current major-leaguers on the big-league roster. And the process is about evaluating other team’s offers, which would likely include prospects. And it wasn't about giving up too much in a deal for a rental player/pitcher.
Do the Cardinals have a solid base of information to make such judgments? Is Bloom the point man for that – or would some of his guys – including Rob Cerfolio, Matt Pierpont and Larry Day – offer their informed expertise? That's a smart group. But we don't know how much the Bloom Boys will be involved.
What happens if Mozeliak is on the verge of making a trade that Bloom doesn’t like?
Does Bloom speak up and voice his dissent?
Does Bloom observe protocol and stand down and let Mozeliak make the deal, simply because Mozeliak still has the title and authority to do just that?
I believe Mozeliak will be sensitive to Bloom’s evaluations. I don’t think Mozeliak would just wave Bloom off, because any deal that Mozeliak completes will have a direct impact on Bloom’s roster shaping for 2026 and beyond. I don’t think Mozeliak would callously undermine Bloom …
That said, we shouldn’t have to be asking these questions, because this setup is absurd.
In my opinion, Mozeliak should have bowed out gracefully to allow Bloom to handle the trade discussions and make the decisions. The guy who is about to leave shouldn’t have authority over matters that will absolutely, positively impact the Cardinals for the rest of this season, into 2026, into 2027 and so on. The guy walking out the door shouldn't leave a bigger mess for his successor.
Bloom should be making the decisions now to control what happens next. Simply because he will control the direction of the baseball department -- soon -- and move this team in a new direction. It's never too early to make that transition.
My gosh, Bloom already has a serious, important, high-impact job with the Cardinals, He isn't some junior executive who has so much to learn before he's ready for the big desk. This is Bloom's second year of studying everything there is to know about the Cardinals and what must be done to raise them up to their previous level of competitive prominence. If he ain't ready by now, then Bill DeWitt hired the wrong guy.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like this during my nearly 40 years of continuously covering St. Louis sports.
So enough already with the old boss / new boss entanglements.
At such a crucial time for the franchise, the Cardinals could use a winning trade-deadline performance. The roster needs a makeover but not a full rebuild. It’s necessary to reduce Mozeliak’s positional logjams and do something about the overstock of left-handed hitters. The Cards may have to make a decision – if there’s worthy offers – on what to do with Nolan Gorman and Jordan Walker.
All of those areas will be of vital importance to Bloom’s early days and years as head of the baseball department.
And yet ...
Bloom does not have the authority to make these final decisions over the next six days. It’s nice to be an advisor or consultant, but Mozeliak still has the power.
Ownership has allowed this screwball situation to go on.
There are deals to be made here — but the dealmaker won’t be here to live with results or those transactions. And that’s a bad thing if these transactions go wrong. Bloom shouldn’t have to rectify any new mistakes made by Mozeliak.
I wanted to take a look at Bloom’s trade-deadline work when he served as the ill-fated chief baseball officer for the Red Sox during a time when the team owner would change his mind every 90 seconds about what he wanted Bloom to do. Plus Bloom was surrounded by front-office operatives that he didn’t hire — because ownership told him to stay the course with guys who were part of the previous front-office regime. Insanity.
So how did Bloom do making deadline deals in that cuckoo and dysfunctional setup?
Rather than rehash Mozeliak’s previous trade-deadline report cards, I am more interested in Bloom’s trade-deadline work in Boston.
This gives us at least gives us some idea of how it could go if Chaim was in charge of the Cards deadline deals right now.
I was impressed by Bloom’s trade-deadline deals for the Red Sox.
Once again, these were deadline deals. The Bloom Haters, who already are out there in small but vocal numbers in Cardinal Land, will be caterwauling about Mookie Betts, Mookie Betts, Mookie Betts, Mookie Betts.
Deadline deals, OK? Besides, the Boston owner ordered Bloom to trade Betts after Mookie turned down a contract extension to stay in Boston.
Deadline deals.
+ Bloom acquired starting pitcher Nick Pivetta for basically nothing – two minor-league relievers who haven’t made it to the big leagues. Pivetta is outstanding. You’ll see him start Friday’s game for the Padres.
+ Bloom acquired DH Kyle Schwarber from Washington for a minor-league pitcher who hasn’t surfaced in the bigs.
+ In a truly fantastic trade, Bloom offloaded veteran catcher Cristian Vazquez to the Astros in exchange for outfield prospect Wilyer Abreu. In two-plus season for the Red Sox, Abreu has a .474 slugging percentage and .802 OPS. He hit 15 home runs and won a gold glove as the best right fielder in the American League. In 2025, Abreu already has 20 homers, and a .497 slugging percentage. It was a gem of a trade.
+ Bloom made a few smaller moves that didn't move the needle. Didn't win those trades. Didn't lose those trades. But he crushed it in the big deadline deals.
I wish Bloom was calling the shots when trade talks intensify over the next six days. But he’ll have all of the authority over the 2026 deadline.
And I just hope Mozeliak doesn’t do anything the Cardinals and Bloom will regret after Mozeliak donates his bow-tie collection to the Cardinals Hall of Fame and walks into the sunset.
Thanks for reading and have a great weekend…
-Bernie
Bernie was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2023. During a St. Louis sports-media career that goes back to 1985, he’s won multiple national awards for column writing and sports-talk hosting – and was the lead sports columnist at the Post-Dispatch from 1989 through 2015. You can access all of his columns, videos and the podcast version of the videos here on STLSportsCentral, catch him weekdays on the “Gashouse Gang” or “Redbird Rush Hour” on KMOX (104.1-FM and 1120-AM) and he is a regular guest on the “Cardinal Territory” video show hosted by Katie Woo of The Athletic. Bernie does a weekly “Seeing Red” podcast with Will Leitch on the Cardinals.