Chaim Bloom, not John Mozeliak, should handle the Cardinals' trade deadline

The St. Louis Cardinals designated right-handed starting pitcher Erick Fedde for assignment on Wednesday morning. This move stirred many emotions amongst the loyal fanbase, and foremost of those was a criticism directed at president of baseball operations John Mozeliak.

Mozeliak, the architect of the St. Louis Cardinals since 2007, was the man responsible for bringing over Erick Fedde from the Chicago White Sox at the 2024 July trade deadline. Acquiring Fedde was just one of three acquisitions that Mozeliak made last year. Tommy Pham also came over with Erick Fedde from the Chicago White Sox, and reliever Shawn Armstrong came via trade with the Tampa Bay Rays that sent former top prospect and beleaguered major leaguer Dylan Carlson to the Rays.

Each of the players that John Mozeliak brought over at the 2024 deadline has been designated for assignment now. That's not exactly a promising return or a case for an optimistic future when it comes to trades.

At the 2023 trade deadline, John Mozeliak was a "seller" for the first time at the helm. He traded away veterans on expiring contracts such as Jordan Montgomery, Jack Flaherty, and Jordan Hicks, among others. In return, the Cardinals netted several prospects including Cesar Prieto, Drew Rom, Zack Showalter, Thomas Saggese, John King, Matt Svanson, and Tekoah Roby.

Of that bunch, only Tekoah Roby and Thomas Saggese are promising young players, and Roby can't seem to shake the injury bug.

Making trades at the deadline is always difficult. Decisions are made more hastily than they are during the offseason, and prices are usually higher for buyers. However, John Mozeliak's recent track record isn't overly promising for the 2025 deadline even if the Cardinals shift to being sellers. Considering Mozeliak is on his way out, the man in charge of the 2025 deadline shouldn't be him anymore.

With the St. Louis Cardinals becoming sellers at the 2025 MLB trade deadline, Chaim Bloom should make the decisions, not John Mozeliak.

Reports have indicated all summer that future president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom will be available for consultation regarding moves that affect the future roster. Buying rentals for a final playoff push would indicate John Mozeliak being the leader of the deadline.

With the Cardinals now sellers, this should be Chaim Bloom's show now. Trading away players on expiring contracts like in 2023 would behoove the Cardinals for years to come. Ryan Helsley, Steven Matz, Phil Maton, and Erick Fedde are all free agents at the end of the year; at least some of those players will net decent prospect packages.

Since Chaim has been with the organization for well over a year now, he probably has a strong indication of which players who are in arbitration or signed to long-term contracts won't be in the picture in 2026 and beyond. He should also be the one in charge of trading these players given the right deal.

Players like Lars Nootbaar, Nolan Gorman, JoJo Romero, and even Jordan Walker, all "runway" players this year, could be moved if Chaim Bloom has seen enough of them and wants to fill holes elsewhere on the roster.

John Mozeliak's recent track record with trades along with his imminent departure should make him step back at this year's trade deadline. The Cardinals are now probable sellers, and Chaim Bloom's tenure should start early.