4 deft trade deadline moves by Cardinals' John Mozeliak and 1 dismal one

Trades, particularly those at the trade deadline, are where general managers make their bread and butter. A general manager is giving up assets that may be valuable to his or her team in order to make improvements or set the team up for success down the road.

St. Louis Cardinals' President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak has often operated as a buyer during the frenzied summer trade session. Excluding 2023, Mozeliak has been able to enter the deadline with a team that has playoff -- occasionally World Series -- aspriations. Therefore, he has dealt prospects the team may hold dearly to acquire game-changing players.

Most of John Mozeliak's deadline moves have been acquisitions on the margins. Players like Edward Mujica, Zach Duke, Rafel Furcal, and Brandon Moss were all players who filled a very specific need for the organization. Large trades rarely happen during the trade deadline historically across the league, anyway.

In addition to these minute transactions, Mozeliak has been able to swing some larger deals to have a greater impact on the roster at the time. Using hindsight, we can see which deals have proven to be beneficial or harmful for the organization since 2007, John Mozeliak's first year at the helm of baseball operations.

Mozeliak has made more than two dozen deadline deals in his tenure. The bulk of those deals fall somewhere in the "not too bad, not too good" range. They were such minor trades that neither team saw a great impact positively or negatively (see the Chris Duncan-Julio Lugo trade as a prime example). About 10-12 other trades that Mozeliak has done at the deadline fall into this category as well.

By and large, John Mozeliak has performed quite well with deadline deals. Trades like the one for Jose Quintana in 2022 are evidence of this. The Cardinals received a starting pitcher who would eventually be their first choice for a playoff game that postseason and a serviceable reliever in Chris Stratton while giving up an infielder who was blocked in Malcolm Nunez and a pitching prospect who hadn't performed in the majors up to that point in Johan Ovideo. No one expected this deal to favor the Cardinals, but it ended up paying dividends.

Here are 4 trade deadline deals orchestrated by John Mozeliak that played in the Cardinals' favor and 1 that didn't.

The Cardinals acquiring Matt Holliday for prospects that never panned out was a great trade.

Cardinals trade: Brett Wallace, Clayton Mortenson, Shane Peterson, and $1.5 million
Oakland Athletics trade: Matt Holliday

At the time, this deal made sense for the short term. The Cardinals received one of the game's best outfielders at the time for the remainder of the season. However, Brett Wallace was the #40 prospect that year according to Baseball America, Mortenson was a top-10 prospect in the organization, and the Cardinals had just chosen Peterson in the second round of the 2008 draft.

This was a risky trade, but it was necessary. Holliday slotted himself into the middle of the lineup, and he was an offensive force to add to Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina. While Holliday's defense was nothing special, he still provided a huge boost to the team.

Brett Wallace and Clayton Mortenson saw some time in the majors, but never panned out to be much, and Shane Peterson never saw 10 plate appearances in the majors until 2015. He accumulated a total of 0.3 fWAR in 125 major league games.

The primary risk with trading for Holliday was the fact that he was going to be a free agent at the end of the year. Even if the prospects traded ended up being league-average guys, they still would have provided more value long-term than Holliday would for the Cardinals without an extension. John Mozeliak saw this concern and immediately worked on inking Holliday long-term.

That extension came to fruition, and the Cardinals locked up their corner outfielder for the future for 7 more years. This was a masterful trade done by John Mozeliak at the 2009 trade deadline. He traded prospects for a star, and it worked out quite well for the team.

John Mozeliak acquiring John Lackey ended up positively despite what it cost to get him.

Cardinals trade: Joe Kelly and Allen Craig
Boston Red Sox trade: John Lackey and Corey Littrell

Joe Kelly and Allen Craig were beloved players by the fanbase. Kelly was known for a variety of things, foremost his hijinx and personality both on and off the field. Allen Craig was known for a nondescript turtle and clutch performances in the playoffs. Trading these two fan favorites who were young and showed promise was a gamble, especially for a 35-year-old starting pitcher.

While Joe Kelly found success as a reliever for the next decade in baseball with the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers (his current team), Allen Craig played his last major league game in 2015 prior to retiring in 2019. Kelly tried his hand at starting in 2015 and 2016, but he was moved to a pure relief role in 2017. He pitched quite well in 2017, 2020, and 2021, but the Cardinals would have only had his services guaranteed in 2017.

John Lackey, on the other hand, pitched wonderfully in back-to-back years in the playoffs for the Cardinals. In 23.1 innings between 2014 and 205, Lackey had a sub-1.000 WHIP and an ERA of 3.46 overall. He accrued 3.6 fWAR in 2015, and he was the best starter on a 100-win team that year.

The trade for John Lackey at the 2014 trade deadline was crucial to the Cardinals' success that year and in 2015. While fan favorites were traded away, the Cardinals came out on top in this particular trade thanks to John Mozeliak's willingness to make the tough decision.

Trading Tommy Pham in 2018 turned out to be a failure on John Mozeliak's part.

Cardinals trade: Tommy Pham
Tampa Bay Rays trade: Justin Williams, Genesis Cabrera, and Roel Ramirez

Even at the time, this trade felt wrong. It was a surprise to most people, even Tommy Pham himself, around baseball when it happened, and the trade has turned out to be a loss for the Cardinals.

Pham was hitting .248 with 14 home runs and 41 RBIs at the time, and he was one of the best hitters that year for the Cardinals, and he provided strong defense in the outfield. There were some concerns about Pham's vision hampering his ability to hit and field, but he seemed to have put those to the side. His fire on and off the diamond was one of his most redeeming qualities at the time. He had 3 more years of team control as well.

In return, the Cardinals received outfielder Justin Williams, RHP Genesis Cabrera, and LHP Roel Ramirez. Justin Williams saw some time in the majors, but he never panned out to be more than a 5th outfielder/AAAA player. Genesis Cabrera was valuable as a reliever, particularly in 2020 and 2021, but he was eventually traded to Toronto. Ramirez played sparingly for the Cardinals in 2020 and 2021, but he only pitched 1 inning total with a total ERA of 81.

Tommy Pham has continued to provide value to teams like the Arizona Diamondbacks, San Diego Padres, and Chicago White Sox throughout his travels. Even in hindsight, this trade looks bad for the Cardinals. While prospects like Tyler O'Neill and Harrison Bader were on the rise, Pham's experience, fire, and performance were tough to lose even with three prospects coming back in return.

Trading for Jordan Montgomery in 2022 was a masterstroke by John Mozeliak.

Cardinals trade: Harrison Bader
New York Yankees trade: Jordan Montgomery

The 2022 season was a magical one for the Cardinals. Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina, and Adam Wainwright were together for one last ride, Pujols reached the 700 home run milestone, Waino and Molina set a battery record, and the team won the National League Central for the first time in 3 years.

Buried in the season was the deft acquisition of a pitcher: left-handed starter Jordan Montgomery. Montgomery was acquired from the New York Yankees for center fielder Harrison Bader. The southpaw immediately found himself near the top of the rotation, and he provided valuable innings for a year for the Cardinals. In 184.2 innings between 2022 and 2023, Monty had an ERA below 3.35, a WHIP near 1.150, and he struck out nearly a batter an inning. He was hands down the most consistent starter on the staff for a full year.

Harrison Bader, meanwhile, faced a series of injuries and underperformance during his time with the Yankees, and he was a below-replacement-level player offensively. The last-second deal at the deadline in 2022 ended up playing in the Cardinals' favor. Bader was a fan favorite, but Montgomery provided ample value while donning the Birds on the Bat.

Mozeliak's acquisition of Montgomery in 2022 was admirable, but his handling of the lefty pitcher the subsequent offseason left a bit to be desired. Montgomery was open to an extension, but the Cardinals instead chose to extend Miles Mikolas. Montgomery was then traded to the Texas Rangers at the 2023 deadline; he would become a World Series champion that year.