Baltimore Orioles taking a page of John Mozeliak's playbook with free agent signings

While both teams are headed in very different directions in 2025, the Baltimore Orioles and St. Louis Cardinals have more in common than one might think. The Orioles, a team primarily composed of young players, are aiming to compete in a difficult American League East. The Cardinals, a veteran-laden team, are walking a tight line between competition and getting a glimpse of its future.

For as much as these two differ, there are quite a few similarities, particularly in the player personnel department.

The Baltimore Orioles are flush with former St. Louis Cardinals thanks to the efforts of Sig Mejdal and Mike Elias, two former St. Louis executives.

Let's first take a trip down memory lane. The year is 2010. John Mozeliak is entering the prime of his tenure as general manager. With him on his staff are two analytically driven men: Sig Mejdal and Mike Elias. Mejdal will soon be promoted to director of amateur draft analysis, a spot where he would create the foundation for homegrown players throughout the 2010s.

Elias was simply a scout for the Cardinals, but he would eventually leave with Jeff Luhnow to Houston to become the Astros' scouting director.

Mejdal and Elias were the brain trust for a younger John Mozeliak during the early stages of his time at the top of the totem pole. These three formed a reliable triumvirate of drafting and developing, a key cog in the Cardinals' success from 2012-2015.

Both Sig Mejdal and Mike Elias have joined the Baltimore Orioles in front office roles. The Orioles are finally reaping the benefits of a tanking protocol from 2017-2021 that netted them several top draft picks, including Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Grayson Rodriguez, and Jackson Holliday, among others. Mejdal and Elias were foundational in this transition period.

To fill out their roster, the Orioles opted to sign mid-level free agents rather than stars. This alone mirrors John Mozeliak's track record. Rarely if ever have the Cardinals signed pricey free agents under John Mozeliak. They've instead opted to take a draft-and-develop approach to roster building or an approach that includes trading for veteran players thanks to a deep farm system, something the Orioles did last year to acquire ace Corbin Burnes in his walk year.

The Orioles signing Tyler O'Neill, Dylan Carlson, Andrew Kittredge, and Kyle Gibson are all reminders of the John Mozeliak effect.

Four former St. Louis Cardinals, Tyler O'Neill, Dylan Carlson, Andrew Kittredge, and Kyle Gibson, are all members of the Baltimore Orioles heading into the 2025 season. O'Neill received the most lucrative contract of the bunch, agreeing to a three-year, $49.5 million deal to be the club's starting left fielder. O'Neill played for the Cardinals from 2018-2023.

Dylan Carlson agreed to a one-year deal worth just under $1 million with Baltimore. Carlson, a former top prospect in all of baseball, has fallen mightily from that status. His one-year deal is evidence of several years of underperformance and injury. Carlson is having a fantastic spring, with a .321 average and a 1.071 OPS through 28 plate appearances, but he'll likely be squeezed off the Opening Day roster.

The Cardinals acquired Andrew Kittredge via trade last year with the Tampa Bay Rays. Kittredge was an anchor in the back of Oli Marmol's bullpen in 2024, and the Orioles were hoping he could fill the same role for them this year. Kittredge is out for multiple months due to knee surgery, however.

The final piece of Sig Mejdal's ex-Cardinal puzzle was Kyle Gibson. Gibson, a Missouri native, joined the Cardinals following the 2023 season with a one-year deal. He was a valuable starter for the Cardinals in 2024, throwing 169.2 innings with a 4.24 ERA and an 8-8 record. He made at least 30 starts for the sixth straight year, and he filled a vital role for St. Louis last year. Gibson and the Orioles agreed to a one-year deal worth $5.25 million.

The similarities don't stop there, however. According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Orioles were even considering another former Cardinal: Lance Lynn. Lynn was drafted in 2008 by the Cardinals, so both Sig Mejdal and Mike Elias would be quite familiar with him. The two were both key members of the organization's scouting team at the time.

It appears as though former proteges of John Mozeliak, Sig Mejdal and Mike Elias of the Baltimore Orioles, are taking a page out of their former boss's playbook. Via veteran free agent signings mixed with a young core of players, Mejdal and Elias are hoping to find some success, hopefully more than the Cardinals did with these players last year.