John Mozeliak's desire to win in 2025 is at odds with Cardinals' reset posture

John Mozeliak's tenure as the St. Louis Cardinals' president of baseball operations is coming to an end next season, and he has no intention of tanking or lacking competitiveness in 2025.

In most years, that is the expectation this organization should have. However, when the messaging coming into the offseason has been about revamping player development and prioritizing necessary organizational changes, it feels like a half-measure to not make hard decisions with this roster that will benefit the team in 2026 and beyond.

In Katie Woo's piece over on The Athletic, she quoted Mozeliak as saying “We have every intention of fielding a good baseball team,” highlighting how it will look a bit different but the club is being positioned to be competitive rather than seeking to subtract from their roster.

Now, to be fair to Mozeliak, he did acknowledge it is still early December and things can change. Even with his public stance that they prefer to keep closer Ryan Helsley, he did not rule out the possibility of a deal, and we know they are actively shopping names like Nolan Arenado and Steven Matz. If Mozeliak is posturing for better offers, I like it. But if this is truly the direction he hopes to see the roster go in 2025...I have concerns.

The Cardinals goal for this offseason should be accumulating future value, not holding onto assets that will lose value later

Some people believe the Cardinals need a full-fledged rebuild, but I do not. They have a young core, and while there are question marks around many of them, there is still enough promise there to see what they can become in 2025 and beyond. Willson Contreras and Sonny Gray want to remain in St. Louis, and both veterans have clear roles with the club moving forward that make sense to hold onto. They don't need to tear the whole thing down.

But names like Helsley, Arenado, Matz, and Erick Fedde? Yeah, all four of them should be off the roster whenever a fair offer comes through.

Stay with me for a moment, and this next part if going to require some nuisance, which I think can be difficult for people to embrace on the internet. I do not believe the timeline for a trade for any of those four players has to be the exact same. While Arenado and Fedde seem like no-brainers to move this offseason, there are scenarios where waiting to trade Helsley and Matz until the season makes sense. Again, there are scenarios that lean that way, but the Cardinals should be listening to offers and doing their best to drive the price up on all four players and pull the trigger when a good deal is available.

But specifically with Helsley, they don't have to just take whatever someone offers them. You and I are not in these trade negotiations. We do not know what is being offered to the Cardinals unless some good reporting comes out. If the Cardinals turn down great offers for Helsley with the intention of "winning" in 2025, that is a massive mistake. But if the front office feels like the offers are underwhelming, is it really worth talking 70 cents on the dollar when they could get much more later?

Yes, they run the risk of an injury or underperformance later, but I think those risks are worth taking if the offers are not good enough. But if St. Louis receives fair compensation, these "resetting" trades must be made.

Helsley, Arenado, Fedde, and Matz are not a part of the Cardinals' long-term future. While Arenado and Matz's value can be debated, Helsley and Fedde would bring back the Cardinals' real assets. Holding onto them for the sake of trying to be a scrappy team in 2025 may make Mozeliak feel better about his farewell tour, but it does not position the Cardinals for organizational success in 2026 and beyond, which has to be the priority.

Hopefully this truly is posturing from Mozeliak, but if it is not, he's potentially burdening the Cardinals' future with his own preferences for "going out on a good note".