4 trade heists by the Cardinals in the last 10 years

Recent debate surrounding John Mozeliak's trade habits has been resoundingly negative. Players such as Zac Gallen, Sandy Alcantara, Randy Arozarena, Adolis Garcia, and even others like Lane Thomas and Carson Kelly to an extent had success to varying degrees with their new organizations. This unbalance for a time made it look like the Cardinals' President of Baseball Operations was inept in the trade department.

However, even John Mozeliak has managed to fleece his counterparts in various trades these past 10 years. Some of these trades are far enough removed that WAR is a valid metric for measuring the success of these moves.

Here are 4 trades that John Mozeliak has made in the last 10 years that went in the Cardinals' favor.

1. St. Louis Cardinals receive 1B Paul Goldschmidt for RHP Luke Weaver, C Carson Kelly, INF Andrew Young, and a Competitive Balance Round B draft pick.

This trade is pretty obvious. Paul Goldschmidt has brought an MVP trophy back to St. Louis, and he has accumulated 21.3 fWAR in just 5 seasons in St. Louis. Meanwhile, the collection of players sent out have racked up only 7.9 fWAR in as many years. This trade weighs heavily in favor of the Cardinals, and Mozeliak worked a masterclass in this trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Carson Kelly was recently designated for assignment by the Diamondbacks, and the Detroit Tigers picked him up through free agency this offseason. Luke Weaver is now in the Yankees pitching mix, but he has played for 6 different teams since leaving the Cardinals. Andrew Young just reached the majors in 2020, but he made limited appearances in just two professional seasons.

This trade benefitted the Cardinals significantly, and while Goldy is getting a bit older, his 2020 season was admirable. John Mozeliak did quite well in this trade. The departure of a backup catcher who was able to be spared and a pitcher in a system that had plenty of prospect depth at the time did not hurt the Cardinals' depth. The fact that Mozeliak was able to sign Goldschmidt to an extension after the trade only sweetened the deal even further.