St. Louis Cardinals: Acquiring Goldschmidt proves Mozeliak is determined

St. Louis Cardinals President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak might occasionally whiff on attempts to improve his team’s roster, but adding star Paul Goldschmidt affirms that he and GM Mike Girsch will never stop being proactive in making their team better.

Ford Motor Company founder Henry Ford famously spoke of failure saying, “it is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.” John Mozeliak and his St. Louis Cardinals crew have proven they live by this phrase, taking every opportunity to begin again with and increased shrewdness seen in every transaction.

December of 2015 was a rough month for Mozeliak, who at that time was entering his eighth year as the Cardinals General Manager. He woke up on the morning of December 1 expecting to sign free agent pitcher David Price to the longest contract in team history. By the end of the day, Red Sox president Dave Dombrowski had swooped in with a bigger offer and convinced the former Cy Young award winner to sign with Boston.

Less than two weeks later, the St. Louis Cardinals had their own free agent in Jason Heyward would spurn the team that traded for him only a year ago and sign with the rival Cubs for an eight-year $184 million deal. Cardinals former manager Mike Matheny was less than pleased with Heyward’s reason for choosing not to return to St. Louis, citing the advantages of the young core players on the Cubs.

Hindsight allows fans to breathe a sigh of relief as they realize the on-field results paired with those contracts would have been a huge problem for the Cardinals. At the time they were seen as significant misses for a team that was in need of a jolt to counter the ascending Cubs.

Mozeliak pressed on after missing the playoffs in 2016 and signed coveted lefty reliever Brett Cecil to a four-year $30.5 million contract. After two big misses, Mozeliak got his guy.

Despite finally hitting his target, Cecil has a 4.86 ERA with the Cards and a horrific -0.5 WAR. Another swing an a miss for Mo.

The Redbirds missed the playoffs again in 2017, which prompted the determined Mozeliak to acquire Marlins star Marcell Ozuna for a package headlined by pitching prospect Sandy Alcantara. Ozuna did not perform as expected, slashing .280/.433/.758 with 23 home runs and 88 RBI’s. His ailing shoulder was an issue leading Mozeliak to call him out after the season ended.

Much of Mozeliak’s recent successes have comes from the talent within the farm system, which has seen a dramatic turnaround over the past several years. Their minor league depth is what allowed the Cardinals to trade a promising young prospect like Alcantara. The team possesses a surplus of pitching prospects, including Jack Flaherty, Alex Reyes, Jordan Hicks, Dakota Hudson, Daniel Poncedeleon, Austin Gomber, and John Gant.

St. Louis Cardinals: Acquiring Goldschmidt proves Mozeliak’s relentlessness

By Rob Chagdes | Dec 10, 2018

St. Louis Cardinals President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak might occasionally whiff on attempts to improve his team’s roster, but adding star Paul Goldschmidt affirms that he and GM Mike Girsch will never stop being proactive in making their team better.