John Mozeliak's new gig with Angels may see them swipe away prized Cardinals executive

When John Mozeliak was named the Los Angeles Angels' interim general manager this weekend, it quickly became clear that the former St. Louis Cardinals president of baseball operations was likely to hand off the true rebuild to a different front office executive before 2027. And that executive could end up being Cardinals assistant general manager Randy Flores.

Mozeliak, whose contract with the Angels runs through December, has not completely ruled out the idea that he may become the Angels' general manager moving forward, but he's been very open about how much he enjoyed the slower pace of life as of late. The Angels saw how his transition went in St. Louis this past year and believed he could help set them up well for their next leader of baseball operations.

While a new general manager wouldn't have quite the runway that Bloom did to learn the organization, Mozeliak can provide stability and a deep-dive audit of where things are, so they can then turn things over to the one who will lead the charge moving forward. It would make all of the sense in the world for Flores to be that guy, and multiple outlets are already connecting those dots.

Locally, different beat reporters have thrown out Flores' name as someone to watch, and at least one Angels beat writer, Jeff Fletcher, has connected his name as well.

Cardinals' AGM Randy Flores would be an excellent choice to lead the Angels' rebuild

Flores is currently an assistant general manager with the Cardinals and now oversees all aspects of scouting. While Flores stepped into the assistant general manager role back in 2018, he's led their amateur drafts since August 2015. Flores is from Pico Rivera, California, which is just a 25-minute drive to Anaheim. He attended the University of Southern California prior to being drafted, and returned to USC for graduate school as well.

Flores has been seen as a rising name in the sport for quite some time due to his work with the Cardinals' scouting department, so it's no surprise to see him connected to a general manager gig. The fact that Mozeliak is the one who will be tasked with hiring one really seems to up the likelihood that Flores could be their guy, and those personal connections go a long way as well.

Losing Flores would be a big loss for the Cardinals, but a well-deserved promotion for Flores. There's obviously a lot that can happen between now and then, but he is certainly worth keeping an eye on as Mozeliak turns his attention toward hiring a general manager after the trade deadline.

I also think there are a few other names worth noting as well that could be on Mozeliak's short list due to his connections with St. Louis. The first is Michael Girsch, who was Mozeliak's general manager from 2017-2024 and was moving into the role of Vice President, Special Projects when Bloom was announced as the president of baseball operations in waiting. I'm not sure how likely he is to land a general manager job somewhere else right now, but his connection with Mozeliak certainly could lead to that.

The other name I'd keep an eye on is Rob Cerfolio, another assistant general manager with the Cardinals who oversees player development and performance. Cerfolio is widely seen as a future general manager himself, and Mozeliak could see this as a great fit for Cerfolio's next big promotion.

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