John Mozeliak’s final home game as the head of baseball operations for the St. Louis Cardinals will take place Sunday when the Redbirds play the Brewers at Busch Stadium.
I did a lengthy video of Mozeliak’s career with the Cardinals. You can find it at STL Sports Central. Take your time with it, because I had a lot to say. And while I’ve been harsh in my criticism of Mozeliak in recent years, it does not diminish my appreciation for his body of work in service to the Cardinals. “Mo” played a prominent role in shaping one of the greatest, most successful runs in franchise history.
It began in 1995, when Mozeliak worked as Walt Jocketty’s top deputy. Jocketty put him in charge of the Cardinals draft for two years before promoting Mozeliak to assistant GM. And when chairman Bill Dewitt Jr. dismissed Jocketty following the 2007 season, he elevated Mozeliak to the top job.
And the last three seasons – while so disappointing and frustrating – don’t expunge all of Mozeliak’s outstanding work over an extended period of time. Among many other achievements since Mozeliak moved into the top STL baseball job in ‘08 are two National League pennants, a World Series title, six division titles and 10 postseason appearances.
Over the last 18 years, only the Dodgers and Yankees have competed in more postseasons than the Cardinals – yes, even though they’re about to miss the playoffs for the third straight year.
In that spirit, I hope Cardinals fans show their class when Mozeliak walks to the pitching mound before the start of Sunday’s competition.
In the video I explain why Mozeliak deserves to be treated in a civil and cheerful manner. Fans won’t embarrass Mozeliak by booing him. The time of rage is over. He’s leaving. By booing Mozeliak, fans will only embarrass themselves and smudge their longstanding reputation as the best and classiest fans in baseball.
In today’s exercise, I present a list of my favorite moves made by Mozeliak during his time in the STL front office. Sure, he made some regrettably failed moves as well. Bulletin: so does every leader of a baseball operation. But my motivation today is tapping into my historical perspective to show my appreciation for Mozeliak’s career and make sure that fans are aware of some excellent moves.
I’m putting this together in random order. The items I mention higher in the review don’t mean I’m saying they were the best moves. Mozeliak made a lot of outstanding moves.
And away we go:
1. Hello, Albert. Hello, Yadier. After Jocketty put Mozeliak in place as the scouting director, Mozeliak’s two best draft choices were a couple of fellas named Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina. Pretty good, eh?
2. Hello again, Albert. Welcome home! All I need to say is this: Albert Pujols, reunited with the Cardinals for his final major-league season in 2022. Pujols returned to St. Louis on a minimal one-year contract and gave the best fans in baseball a season to remember. After a slow start – Pujols batted .215 with 6 homers and a .376 slugging percentage before the All-Star break – he went ballistic in the second half with a .323 average, 18 home runs, and .715 slug. The assault on pitchers gave Pujols 24 homes and a .550 slug for the season and pushed his career home-run total to 703. What a sweet homecoming for an illustrious star who is the ONLY hitter in MLB history to put up this combination: at least 700 homers, at least 2,000 RBIs, at least 3,000 hits, and multiple league MVP awards. And Pujols recorded much of that into history during his 12 seasons in St. Louis.
3. Acquiring a future hometown hero: In the first trade he made as Cardinals GM, before the 2008 season, Mozeliak fulfilled Jim Edmonds’ trade request by offloading the center fielder to the Padres for a third-base prospect named David Freese. You may have heard of him.
4. I’m just going to call it “2011.” To remake and rally the Cardinals during a troubling regular season, Mozeliak exported the nonchalant center fielder Colby Rasmus to Toronto as part of a three-team trade that included the White Sox. In return the Cardinals received a transfusion of pitching that included starter Edwin Jackson and relievers Octavio Dotel and Marc Rzepczynski and reserve outfielder Corey Patterson. All three pitchers came through for the Redbirds, and their valuable performances were a huge reason for the team’s mad-dash run to the NL wild-card spot.
4a. Mozeliak wasn’t done. To reinforce the 2011 roster he upgraded the shortstop position by acquiring Rafael Furcal from the Dodgers for a fringe prospect. He also signed old-school reliever Arthur Rhodes for the ‘11 regular season stretch run. And before the season Mozeliak signed firecracker utility infielder Nick Punto. After missing much of the regular season to injury, Punto returned late in the schedule and appeared in 15 postseason games. Mo’s moves were a substantial reason why the Cardinals went 32-19 over their final 51 regular-season games and overtook the Braves to grab the wild-card ticket on the final night of the regular season – then took down the Phillies, Brewers and Rangers during an incredible, memorable postseason run. NONE of this happens without Mozeliak’s wheeling and dealing.
5. Welcome to St. Louis, Matt Holliday. At the 2009 trading deadline, Mozeliak made a heist of a deal with the A’s, acquiring the future franchise Hall of Famer for three decent but inconsequential prospects. This worked out great for the Cardinals. Holliday put an extra charge in the St. Louis offense over the final two-plus months of the regular season led the team to the NL Central title, and Mozeliak followed through with a seven-year, $120 million deal for Holiday before 2010. In STL, the classy Holliday was a huge part of five postseason teams including the 2011 World Series champions, the 2013 NL pennant winner, and the 100-win team of 2015. As a Cardinal, Holliday was a four-time All-Star and received MVP votes in four seasons. The Cardinals led the majors in wins – regular-season and postseason – from 2011 through 2015. As a Cardinal, Holliday homered 156 times, ripped 401 extra-base hits, drove in 616 runs and put up a slash line of .293/.380/.494.
6. Lance Berkman’s revival. This is one of my favorite Mozeliak deals. He signed Berkman to a two-year free-agent contract before the 2011 season. After spending time getting to know Berkman, Mozeliak was confident about a Berkman rebound after a final season with the Astros that included a damaged knee and an expanded waistline. Berkman was driven to prove that he could physically perform at a high level – and that’s exactly what happened in 2011. Berkman had 31 homers, 94 RBIs, and an OPS+ that was 64 percent better than the league average offensively. And Berkman saved World Series Game 6. With the Cardinals down to the Rangers by a 9-8 score in the bottom of the 10th inning, Berman delivered a two-strike, two-out single that tied the game and kept St. Louis alive. David Freese won it in the bottom of the 11th with one of the most famous home runs in franchise history.
7. Jason Heyward’s calming season. He was a Cardinal for only one season before leaving for free agency, but Mozeliak made a valiant effort to steady his team after the tragic death of rookie outfielder Oscar Tavares. Heyward temporarily filled the void in right field by giving the Cardinals a terrific all-around season highlighted by a .293 average, gold-glove winning defense, 33 doubles, 13 homers, 23 stolen bases and a .797 OPS. Heyward turned down a larger offer from the Cardinals to join the Cubs – plus the Cardinals gave up young starting pitcher Shelby Miller in the trade for Heyward. But I still loved what Mozeliak tried to do to help his team recover in 2015. And the ‘15 Cardinals responded by winning 100 games and the NL Central title.
8. Wake up, Birdie! At the 2014 trade deadline, Mozeliak shook up a listless team by adding salty, spitfire starting pitcher John Lackey and his effectively abrasive personality. The Cardinals had to send young pitcher Joe Kelly to Boston for Lackey, but because of the weird structuring in his Red Sox contract, Lackey finished out the 2014 season for the Cardinals and Mozeliak picked up a low-cost option on Lackey before the 2015 season for a ridiculously low cost of less than $1 million. Lackey bolted to the Cubs on a free-agent deal after the 2015 season. But as a Cardinal Lackey had a 3.39 ERA in 43 starts, and went 2-0 with a 3.47 ERA in three total postseason starts in 2014-15. The other benefit of the trade? The Cardinals were able to offload a broken Allen Craig and the Red Sox were responsible for paying the bulk of the $31 million that remained on his contract. Simply an awesome trade.
9. Gold-medal deal for Goldy: Before the 2019 season the Cardinals traded pitcher Luke Weaver and catcher Carson Kelly to Arizona for future Hall of Fame first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. Weaver and Kelly, still active, were talented young players – but were expendable at the time of the trade. And the Cardinals were able to sign to a five-year contract extension at a below-market price. Goldy won the 2022 NL MVP award as a reward for his career-best season in which he performed 77 percent above league average offensively (per wRC). Goldschmidt also thumped Braves pitching to help the Cardinals win the 2019 NLDS and advance to the NLCS. That conquest of the Braves was the last time the Cardinals won a playoff round. By the 2023 and 2024 seasons Goldy’s bat was slowing down – but it was great having him in St. Louis from 2019-24.
10. Adding a second infield cornerstone. Heck, why not? Mozeliak did it again before the 2021 season, sending a package of modestly talented prospects to the Rockies for Nolan Arenado, the best third baseman in baseball. The Rockies generously sent $51 million to St. Louis to defray the cost of Nado’s elephantine contract. As a Cardinal Arenado has won two gold gloves, two silver slugger awards, made three NL All-Star teams and finished third in the 2022 NL MVP vote. But the last two seasons have been a struggle, with Arenado entering his age-related decline phase sooner than expected. He has two years remaining (2026, 2027) on his contract, and the Cardinals presumably will try to trade him again after this season. Nado still has no-trade protection and the final say. And no one knows how many teams would be interested in trading for him. Though this hasn’t worked out as well as anticipated, it was fantastic to have Arenado and Goldschmidt holding down the infield corners as teammates from 2021 through 2024.
11. Two for 2022: Mozeliak transformed the Cardinals rotation at the trade deadline, by acquiring starters Jordan Montgomery and Jose Quintana. The only notable player who went the other way in these deals was center fielder Harrison Bader, who was the price for the Yankees giving up Montgomery. The two lefty starters came to two St. Louis and combined for 23 regular-season starts during the remainder of the ‘22 campaign. They collectively pitched to a 2.56 ERA and the Cardinals won 17 of their 23 starts to surge to 93 wins and the NL Central title.
12. Low-key, effective, important … and kind of cool: The 2021 Cardinals were desperate for starting-pitching assistance. Mozeliak got it with two last-minute deals at the trade deadline, obtaining left-handed starters Jon Lester and J.A. Happ. These longtime veterans weren’t dazzling but did a helluva job. The Cardinals were grinding along at 52-52 before the two trades but went 38-20 over the final two months to claim a wild-card spot. The Cardinals were 14-9 in starts made by Lester and Happ, and STL had the seventh-best rotation ERA (3.73) over the final two months. When folks review Mozeliak’s best deadline maneuvers, the Lester-Happ additions are often overlooked, and I have no idea why. Their instant impact was vital.
13. The Cardinals traded for Edward Who? What, pray tell, was this dumpster dive for a no-name reliever? Of course, we are talking about Mo’s trade for right-handed Marlins for reliever Edward Mujica for failed third-base prospect Zack Cox. Cardinals fans were shrieking when old friend Walt Jocketty acquired a big-name reliever, Jonathan Broxton, for the Reds on the same day. The Cardinals had done their scouting to pull off a heck of a trade. Mozeliak knew what he was doing. Mujica came over and had a superb 1.03 ERA in 29 relief appearances for the 2012 Cardinals. He was a valuable addition to a team that kicked in late to win a wild-card spot. In 2013, Mujica had 37 saves and was chosen for the NL All-Star team. And even though he faded later in the season after being overworked, Mujica was an important piece for the 2013 NL champions. In his two postseasons with the Cardinals, Mujica worked 11 games and crafted a 2.79 ERA. This was one of Mozeliak’s finest and most underrated moves.
14. Pivoting to Beltran: this was one of Mozeliak’s true power moves, and the only reason I saved this for a deep place in the column is to have a big one near the bottom of the list. After Pujols stunned the Cardinals (and MLB fans) by inking a $240 million, 10-year contract with the Angels, Mozeliak immediately turned to free-agent outfielder Carlos Beltran. The Cardinals secured Beltran for a reasonable two-year, $36 million price … and good gosh … What a fabulous signing. In his two regular seasons for St. Louis, Beltran played in 296 games, homered 56 times, grooved 115 total extra-base hits, batted .282, drove in 181 runs, and posted an .836 OPS. Beltran reminded Cardinal fans why he’s one of the best postseason hitters of all time. In his two postseason runs (29 games) as a Cardinal, Beltran had five homers, 14 extra-base hits, walked 17 times, and sculpted a .306 average, .571 slug and .982. Needless to say, Beltran provided tremendous value in his two STL seasons. And he was a member (obviously) of the 2013 Cardinals team that won the NL pennant before falling to the Red Sox in a six-game World Series.
15. A trade made with love and mercy: after the 2017 season, Mozeliak called Oakland president of baseball operations Billy Beane to work out a deal for young Cards outfielder Stephen Piscotty. And the trade was arranged for one reason: to get Piscotty home to the Bay Area to be close to his mother, who was dying of ALS. This didn’t help the Cardinals in any way, but that doesn’t matter Mozeliak made a beautiful trade that emerged from a deep place in his heart.
16. The Church Lady is mad! In 2010 Mozeliak traded popular outfielder Ryan Ludwick to San Diego in a three-way deal that transported right-handed starting pitcher Jake Westbrook from Cleveland to St. Louis. Ludwick had a terrific 2008 season, blasting 37 homers and driving in 113 runs and earning a place on the NL All-Star roster. Ludwick’s production declined in 2009, but began to crank up in 2010, and Mozeliak needed starting-pitching help. So he moved Luddy. The day after making the trade, Mozeliak was stopped on his way out of his regular Sunday church service by an elderly woman who berated him for trading Ludwick.
I wasn’t crazy about the trade at the time, but I kept an open mind and came around to understanding how the move benefited the Cardinals. St. Louis had strong offenses but needed back-rotation starters and some runway for Jon Jay and Allen Craig. Westbrook was a nice fit. Good pitcher, great teammate. All three guys — Westbrook, Jay and Craig — made the Cardinals better for 2011, and we all know how that season ended. He was part of the rotation that won the 2011 World Series, reached the 2012 NLCS, and captured the NL pennant in 2013.
In extra innings, Westbrook was officially the winning pitcher in the classic 10-9 victory over Texas in World Series Game 6. And the two outfielders who got more of a chance because of the Ludwick trade sent a thank-you by making huge contributions in Game 6. In that memorable drama, Jay went 2 for 4 and scored a run, and Craig hit a solo homer in the eighth to cut the Texas lead to 7-5. In Game 7, Craig broke a 2-2 tie with a fourth-inning HR that put the Cardinals ahead to stay. It was Craig’s fourth HR of the 2011 postseason, he paid off in a big way when Holliday suffered an injury that took him out of the World Series.
Thank you, John Mozeliak.
Thanks for reading …
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 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, and Bernie does a weekly “Seeing Red” podcast on the Cardinals with his longtime pal Will Leitch.
Bernie joins Katie Woo on the “Cardinal Territory” video-podcast each week, and you can catch a weekly “reunion” segment here at STL Sports with Bernie’s appearance on the Randy Karraker Show every Friday morning at 10:30 am.