10 potential replacements for Cardinals' John Mozeliak if he steps down this season

Randy Flores

Before Bloom was brought in, Randy Flores was the flashy name for fans to point to, and for good reason.

Flores is a former pitcher for the Cardinals who joined their front office in 2015 as the Director of Scouting. The Cardinals' drafts have been stellar under Flores' leadership, and it's led many to believe he should get a crack at overseeing the entire operation once Mozeliak is done.

Flores has gained responsibility since joining the front office, as he was promoted to Assistant General Manager in 2018. It is unclear to me how the rest of baseball views Flores as an up-and-coming executive, but it is clear to me that the Cardinals really like him and would love to have him around for a long time.

I do think Flores would be one of the leading candidates outside of Bloom, but there are a few things that could work against him. First, he does not have any prior experience running an organization, and that may be something the Cardinals want from the person who will replace Mozeliak. Second, Flores has spent his entire front-office career in the Cardinals' organization, so he lacks the outside voice that someone like Bloom would have.

The DeWitt family may end up wanting to go internal though, promoting someone from within like they've done time and time again in recent years. All of that remains to be seen, but Flores will certainly be a candidate when the time comes.