John Mozeliak’s most recent contract extension with the Cardinals covered the 2021-23 seasons, yet the president of baseball operations doesn’t seem too concerned about his status as he enters the final year of that contract. Speaking with reporters (including The Athletic’s Katie Woo and Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat) today at the Cardinals’ Winter Warm-Up fan event, Mozeliak said that he’d spoken to ownership about a possible new deal, but “I’m not overly focused on my contract or what 2024 looks like yet.”
Since Mozeliak also noted that “I don’t want to be a distraction first and foremost,” it seems possible that we might not hear any details about future negotiations until (or if) a new deal is officially announced. Mozeliak has been in charge of the Cardinals’ front office since October 2007, and looking over that long history, two of his past extensions (in 2010 and 2013) weren’t signed until Mozeliak was in the final year of his deal. However, the Cardinals were a little more proactive in locking up Mozeliak in his two most recent extensions — his current pact was signed in November 2019, when Mozeliak still had a year to do on his previous deal.
This all being said, there isn’t much to indicate that the Cardinals are actually thinking of moving on from Mozeliak, who has been with the organization in various roles since 1995. Since Mozeliak took over from Walt Jocketty following the 2007 campaign, St. Louis has enjoyed 15 consecutive winning seasons, 10 postseason appearances, and a World Series championship in 2011. Last October, the Cards signed two of Mozeliak’s top lieutenants (GM Michael Girsch and assistant GM/scouting director Randy Flores) to multi-year extensions, hinting that upper management had an interest in keeping the front office mix in place.
It doesn’t mean that Mozeliak isn’t facing some pressure heading into 2023, given the Cardinals’ relative lack of postseason success. Over the last eight seasons, St. Louis has only a 1-5 record in playoff series, with the 2019 NLDS triumph over the Braves representing the only October trip that didn’t result in a one-and-done.
In terms of bolstering the 2023 roster for a deeper playoff run, the Cardinals had two major roster questions answered early, as the team re-signed Adam Wainwright, and Nolan Arenado chose not to opt out of the five years (and $144MM) remaining on his contract. Furthermore, the Cards also made a splashy free agent signing, inking Willson Contreras to a five-year pact that installed the catcher as Yadier Molina’s successor behind the plate.
Besides the Contreras deal, however, it has been a relatively quiet winter to date, and Mozeliak noted that some of the front office’s plans fell through. “When we reflect back on the offseason, there were certainly some things we were hoping to do that we weren’t able to accomplish…A lot of things sort of unfolded or transpired that necessarily didn’t break the way we had hoped.”
For instance, a left-handed bat was on the Cardinals’ wish list, though the team isn’t necessarily short on such hitters — Lars Nootbaar, Nolan Gorman, and Brendan Donovan are left-handed batters, while Tommy Edman and Dylan Carlson are switch-hitters. It doesn’t make for a clear path to playing time for a veteran hitter, which Mozeliak suggested was a stumbling block in the Cards’ talks. “I don’t think we were a very compelling team to come to because when you look at our roster, there is competition…and I think some people just did not find that interesting,” Mozeliak said. “Typically in negotiations, it really comes down to money and years, but there’s also that factor of fitting in as that player. We were having a hard time convincing [them] this was an impactful-type role given the competition we have.”
Of course, there’s still plenty of time left before Opening Day or even the start of Spring Training, so the Cardinals will continue to look. Whether a true big-ticket addition (via a trade or from what remains of the free agent market) is possible perhaps seems doubtful, as Mozeliak noted that improvements from such players as Carlson, Tyler O’Neill, and Jack Flaherty might be the key factors in whatever success the 2023 squad enjoys. The internal depth on the roster is one reason that Mozeliak said the Cards didn’t do much exploration into adding a high-end starting pitcher or shortstop during the winter.
With Contreras as the only major new face on the roster, the St. Louis payroll is slated to be only marginally higher than its 2022 figure, which somewhat runs counter to Mozeliak’s assertion last fall that the Cards were ready to do some spending. The rise in free agent spending throughout baseball left the Cardinals hesitant about making any big splurges beyond Contreras, but Mozeliak did hint that the Cards (traditionally an active team at the trade deadline) would be prepared to expand payroll during the season.
“Do we have the bandwidth to still add to this club throughout the year? Yes, we do. Is the market something that had an adverse effect [on] us spending? The answer is of course,” Mozeliak said. “The way we operate is that we’re going to invest in what we think are smart investments, prudent, but also investments that we understand could have a backside of negativity or loss. Having said that, you’re still not going to do something just to do something, and you’re not going to spend just to spend. We like our team. If we didn’t like our team we’d be making adjustments to our team.”
Buzz Killington
How does he not get extended? Cashman hasn’t gotten the Yankees a WS since 2009 yet he gets a big extension. It’d be idiotic to let him walk.
sw
Thank God a Yankees fan is here to make sure we all stay focused on the Yankees.
Buzz Killington
27 World Series championships. Just thought I’d add that.
nbresnak
2 WS Championships in the 21st Century and no WS appearances for the Yankees since 2009.
St. Louis Cardinals have 2 WS Championships in the 21st Century. Last one being 2011 and also made an appearance in 2013.
Cardinals players are solid but with improvements from the players listed in this article will make them that much better.
The extension could already be in the works and they won’t make it public because that’s not how those upper management positions work.
Good luck to the Cardinals!
This one belongs to the Reds
Been a while since that happened. Just thought I’d add that.
Were you even alive the last time it happened?
Clepto_
Yawn.
Brock Louis
Mo is the worst. Trade him for some left handed catchers gear
i like al conin
27 is a joke. 10 were before integration and against the best competition. 7 more before expansion – small leagues someone had to win. 6 more before CBT when they bought championships and bullied the league. Not saying they didn’t deserve some, but these are reasons the pace slowed down so they’re more like everyone else.
Deadguy
0 since 2009, just thought I’d add that…
LordD99
The butt hurt runs strong through one named @I like al conin, and as a Yankee fan I love it.
i like al conin
Haha not so LordD99, facts are facts.
Deadguy
I know right….
Go make your players shave because you got stock brokers sitting in the front row and you still can’t buy championships under new MLB rules….
This one belongs to the Reds
It’s called respect and looking like a professional. Obviously that is lost on today’s generation on both counts.
I actually liked it when the Reds did it for years until Greg Vaughn got them to change it. I remember Rollie Fingers and others didn’t want to play for the Reds because they had to shave. That was their prerogative, as the philosopher Bobby Brown would say.
mrperkins
Bring on the trolls!!!
CardsFan57
He’s not going anywhere. His plan to see how the season unfolds before jumping into something is a good idea.
Del Griffith
We need more pitching depth. It’s been the same issue for a few years. Mo likes to count on people you can’t reasonably count on, like Flaherty.
Jerry Cantrell
Agree 100%
justkidding
You and every other team
This one belongs to the Reds
Even though they are a division rival, always respected the way the Cardinals ran their organization.
Brock Louis
That’s because you are a moron
Samuel
Felt for over 60 years that the Cardinals fans were the most knowledgeable in MLB. Thought it was the Branch Rickey style of baseball they became accustomed to watching since 1915 or so (with the Browns before the Cardinals).
Mo took credit for the drafting and analytical worked done by Jeff Luhnow, Mike Elias, and Sig Mejdal on their way to the last Cardinals championship, and watched as they took high-tech Rickey ball and played it in Houston (developing it now in Baltimore). Alas the Cardinals are now a buck-short franchise. Was very sorry to see Mike Shildt go – but he believed in the Rickey style of play. I’m still not sure exactly what Mo believes in.
CardsFan57
Jeff Luhnow left the Cardinals 11 years ago. The Cardinals are still drafting and developing players just fine.
TheStevilEmpire1
Meanwhile when John Mozeliak was head of scouting from 1995 to 2005, he oversaw the drafting of the following players:
Albert Pujols
Yadier Molina
Matt Morris
Braden Looper
Adam Kennedy
Rick Ankiel
JD Drew (traded for Adam Wainwright)
Jack Wilson
Coco Crisp
Dan Haren
Brendan Ryan
Max Scherzer
Ian Kennedy
Colby Rasmus
Jaime Garcia
He also drafted dozens of other players that made it to the MLB. Mozeliak didn’t ride the backs of those other guys, he literally built the teams that won. He built the Cardinals we know. He’s probably one of the top 5 talent evaluators in the game, period. Be grateful for what he built, a sustainable model for winning.
frontdeskmike
We found Mo’s burner account.
Deadguy
Lol I’m so sick of “burner account” no that dude is currently evaluating the draft with randy Flores like they do every winter until the draft date in mid summer
eznod
Same speech, different season.
TheStevilEmpire1
Look, a spoiled Cardinal fan.
Deadguy
I was gonna say how do you know? Bit with a name like that they probably live in chesterfield so your more than likely right
Jerry Cantrell
Not signing or trading for one more starting pitcher is a huge mistake. There are so many options out there. Still. Yet they want to stand pat and trust that this staff can get it done. Thankfully we are in a horrible division with not much competition within it.
justkidding
Those options are ???
Jerry Cantrell
Pick a Miami pitcher. Michael Wacha had nice numbers last year.
Deadguy
Micheal Wacha is your plenty of pitching left…? Gordon Graceffo is gonna get a shot in spring training is he not? Maybe doesn’t make the team, just to keep his innings low and he gets the mid season call up and carries the pitching staff second half? Crazier things have happened
Deadguy
Idk if you’ve looked up his numbers? Dude is gonna be a major league rotation stalwart he’s still 22 and developing some of his secondary pitches like change up, but he throws 100 MPH why do we need to sign someone to potentially block his emergence again? Or give up major league talent or him Marlins pitching?
Jerry Cantrell
Please tell me that you don’t think Graceffo is going to be in the starting five. The Cardinals are NOT going to prematurely start his clock.
Jerry Cantrell
They will roll the dice with Hudson and Liberatore all to no avail and probably even try Hicks in the starting role again, before Graceffo gets a sniff.
Jerry Cantrell
I would even entertain giving Daniel Mengden a chance to find his stuff again.
Jerry Cantrell
The Mariners want to deal Chris Flexen – another good option for the Cardinals.
Eric T
I do agree that it would have been preferable to do that. I was hoping Quintana might come back, but obviously he went in another direction. Wacha had his moments last year and would be good, Dylan Bundy didn’t strike out many last year per inning but his walk rate was very attractive. If Chad Kuhl’s bad ERA might have been due to his home park and NL West-heavy schedule, perhaps he could return to the 4.50 ish ERA guy he was with the Pirates and the an ideal long man/emergency starter… to me, that’s what we’d be looking at, not a guy who would be terribly likely to make a play for the rotation’s fifth slot. But there’s still plenty of time to get one of these guys from the bargain bin as we continue to move toward spring training…
Four4fore
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it? Pitching staff may be more broken than he thinks, but the type of starters they need went for more money than they were ever going to spend.
gbs42
“The (baseball) industry isn’t very profitable.”
– Cardinals owner (and big-time liar) Bill DeWitt Jr.
justkidding
non-descript tenure
letsholdemandgohome
Go get Shane Bieber. Pitching wins championships, starters and bullpen, but only if your offense doesn’t become stagnant like last playoff game.
Samuel
letsholdemandgohome;
Why not go get Gerrit Cole, Framber Valdez, Corbin Burnes, Max Fried, Zack Wheeler, Joe Musgrove, Luis Castillo, Shohei Ohtani or Sandy Alcantara?
letsholdemandgohome
Because it was mentioned that the Guardians would possibly be interested in trading Bieber, that’s why I suggested him
Eric T
I have to object to the statement that the Cards not spending much in the offseason “somewhat runs counter to Mozeliak’s assertion last fall that the Cards were ready to do some spending.” Being willing to spend and actually spending are two separate things. Only the most reckless franchises go out and spend because of some arbitrary mandate to spend, and history makes it clear that such an approach almost always blows up in teams’ faces. The more likely story is that the Cardinals made bids for certain players, but were outbid. Since three of the franchise’s most impactful transactions have happened on the trade market as of late (Goldy, Arenado, and Montgomery), I imagine that we’ll have more success finding an impact player via the trade market during the year than we did this offseason (Contreras excepted), and should we pursue a guy at the deadline, it would be at a position of need, whereas right now, who knows what position that will be? Mo said it best when he said the team shouldn’t “spend just to spend.”
iH8PaperStraws
Spending recklessly just to spend because the owner green lighted it sure didn’t work out for the recent Phillies team. Not sure Mozalak gets out bid more than the players don’t want to sign here. They had to over pay for Contreras and needed Molina to pursaude him to come. I’m happy for the Contreras signing but let’s not act like that was is a normal occurrence. Don’t get your hopes too high for trading forms one thing of impact. He lucked into a salary dump for Arenado, and Goldschmidt was traded because Arizona knew they weren’t going to resign him. He didn’t give up much in those trades and he won’t deal anyone of his supposed prized prospects.
toomanyblacksinbaseball
I thought he ran the bar on the Simpsons.
Jesse Cook
Sure glad most Cardinals fans are just happy getting into the playoffs, only to watch them get taken out in the Wildcard round like they have the past 3 seasons.. Only reason they made the playoffs last season is they play in the weak NL Central. If it wasn’t for that, they would’ve been on winter vacation licking their wounds a few days earlier. Mozeliak’s usual offseason of one and done. Willson Contreras should’ve signed with another team that at least wants to get past the Wildcard round.
BranchLilDicky
Absolutely correct as usual that the Cards will live and die by our own homegrown players production and health. This is a make or break year for O’Neil.
Side note. Thank you MLBTR for always being balanced in your team reporting. I’ve been visiting this site for 15 years now and only recently decided to start commenting.
acoss13
Not be that guy, but the NL Central is very weak, so no need to go all out spending when you can give Flaherty a chance to rebound.
Cha Cha Cha
Take a flyer on Trevor Bauer. I know he’s not the cardinals type but we need more pitching
iH8PaperStraws
It is time Mozalak goes. The team has been in a decline ever since he took over after 2011. Before that it was all TLR. I’ll give Jocketty some credit too since he went in to Cincinnati and had a run of success. Mozalak hasn’t found a franchise player through drafting/development. Until Contreras, he’s never signed a top free agent, a top free agent who wasn’t already with the team.l, and those are pretty scarce, Holliday being the biggest. Not sure Goldschmidt would have gotten more then he did at his age when he was extended. He’s had several extensions end terribly. Made a terrible managerial hire everyone knew was bad at the time (Matheny). Got rid of a manager everyone knows was the right fit (Schildt) and then made another terrible managerial hire who get out managed in games and makes too many bad decisions (Marmol) why?? All so he can have full control. He’s been the benefit of a week division, but realistically he has never been in the same league as Stearns and Epstein was better in his time in Chicago as well. Speaking of Chicago, the Cubs have had a much better off season to date. I’m a betting man, I’ll be laying heavy the odds for the Cubs to win the division this year. The Mo it all, needs to go. Maybe they can even get Stearns to replace him.