Cardinals' John Mozeliak should learn from one of his greatest trades in final year

Over a decade ago, the St. Louis Cardinals traded away a key member of their core at the trade deadline, freeing up playing time for a promising young player and bringing in the pieces to go chase a World Series.

John Mozeliak should think about that Colby Rasmus trade frequently between now and his final trade deadline as the head of the Cardinals' front office.

In 2011, Rasmus was coming off an incredible sophomore campaign for the Cardinals, slashing .276/.361/.498 with 23 HR and 66 RBI, good for a 132 OPS+ during the 2010 campaign. But leading up to the trade deadline the next season, Rasmus had posted just a 106 OPS+ in the process, and his relationship with manager Tony La Russa had deteriorated greatly.

So, the Cardinals did something that left many in the league scratching their head. They traded their young, up-and-coming center fielder to the Toronto Blue Jays in one of the most complicated three-team trades you'll see at the trade deadline, where the Cardinals recieved starting pitcher Edwin Jsackson, relievers Marc Rzepczynski and Octavio Dotel, and outfielder Corey Paterson in exchange for Rasmus and pitchers Trever Miller, Brian Tallet, and P.J. Walters. Jackson was acquired by the Blue Jays fromt the White Sox just hours earlier to make the trade work, as they sent Mark Teahen, Jason Frasor, and Zach Stewart in exchange for him.

Altogether, this was an 11-player trade that, in the moment, looked very much like the Cardinals were getting cents on the dollar for a player who in Rasmus who the Blue Jays could build around for a long-time. Instead, while Rasmus did go on to have a nice big league career, this move propelled the Cardinals to a World Series title in 2011.

John Mozeliak needs to explore creative moves like the Colby Rasmus trade at this year's trade deadline

The Colby Rasmus trade was a bold decision from John Mozeliak, and one that ended up becoming one of the most important moves of his tenure running the St. Louis Cardinals front office. Obviously we all want him to make moves that have the same levels of importance as this one did, but why exactly am I referring to this trade when it comes to this deadline?

Let me remind you about a player who the Rasmus trade opened playing time in center field up for, outfielder Jon Jay.

Jay, who debuted for the Cardinals the season prior, has become someone that manager Tony La Russa trusted greatly in the oufield and was a surprise producer in the Cardinals' lineup. Rasmus was the better player, but Jay was able to give the Cardinals what they needed each day.

With Matt Holliday entrenched in left field and new signing Lance Berkman in right, Jay's opportunities to start games were hard to find until Albert Pujols went down with an injury, sliding Berkman to first base during that stretch of games. Fellow Memphis legend Allen Craig was also looking to force his way into the Cardinals' lineup, but once again, there were logjams all over the field.

Sound familiar?

It is far too early to declare the Cardinals buyers, sellers, or something in between at this year's deadline. If things fall off the rails between now and then, I'm sure they'll be looking to the future in July. If they keep pressing on and winning series like they have since a rough start to April, well, they'll likely want to add to that momentum.

Even if they are buyers, though, how they buy will likely be complicated this year. They really shouldn't dip into their prospect pool much to get deals done. But if you look at their Major League roster or some of their next men up in Memphis, you'll see some logjams at various positions that they could look to deal from in order to improve the club.

What if the Cardinals traded one of their young bats like Nolan Gorman or Jordan Walker at the deadline to pursue a needed upgrade, knowing that names like Alec Burleson and Thomas Saggese can backfill (or in Burleson's case, already taken the reps). What if the Cardinals dealt a veteran starter like Erick Fedde or Miles Mikolas to a contender in order to bring in bullpen help or whatever other needs emerge? Or maybe they flip one of these big leaguers into prospects, allowing them to turn around and deal those same prospects or other players from their system to go and get a different player to help their club?

We saw the Cardinals get creative at last year's deadline when they flipped Tommy Edman in a three-team deal to acquire both Fedde and Tommy Pham, so Mozeliak has a recent track record of getting complicated. For years, it felt like the Cardinals front office did not pursue complicated moves like this, but with their current financial constraints and their need to maintain assets for the future, creativity will likely be needed to make any meaningful upgrades come July.

No, I'm not saying the Cardinals are one creative trade away from winning the World Series, but as we've seen in the postseason time and time again, they are a team that could make a strong run in October if they get hot at the right time. They can do that as currently constructed, but by the time the deadline is here, we'll be able to really know what areas need reinforcements.

And when that time comes, I hope Mozeliak spends his last trade deadline orchestrating potential trades that none of us saw coming, utilizing some of their log jammed players, as it could be the catalyst toward a special run in 2025.