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.

3. The St. Louis Cardinals swap OF Jon Jay for INF Jedd Gyorko.

Early in the winter of 2015, the St. Louis Cardinals traded outfielder Jon Jay to the San Diego Padres for 2B/3B Jedd Gyorko. This was a swap of two major league players hoping to fill a hole for the other team. Some additional cash was also sent to the Cardinals to help cover Gyorko's contract. In theory, both the Cardinals and Padres would benefit from this trade.

Jay struggled in 2015 in only 79 games for the Cardinals. He slashed .210/.306/.257 that year with good defense in center field. Players such as Peter Bourjos, Randal Grichuk, and Harrison Bader could cover well enough in center, so Jay's role was ever-decreasing.

While Kolten Wong was handling second base more than capably, the Cardinals had quite the hole at third base. Matt Carpenter was getting most of the looks at the hot corner from 2014-2015, but his defense left much to be desired. Gyorko would fill the hole at third base for the subsequent 2 years after the trade.

During Gyorko's tenure in St. Louis, he accumulated 7.8 fWAR. Meanwhile, Jon Jay played for 4 different teams in 3 years, and he racked up a meager total of 1.5 fWAR. Injuries and underperformance were the story of Jay's career outside of St. Louis, and he couldn't tap into any power for the Padres, Cubs, Royals, or Diamondbacks from 2016-2018.

It was tough to see such a beloved player leave St. Louis, but Jon Jay needed a change of scenery, and his time in St. Louis was finished. In exchange, the Cardinals filled a hole with a serviceable infielder. Gyorko's career in St. Louis ended on a low note, but he provided great innings at the hot corner in 2016 and 2017.

Gyorko's plus performance outweighed how much more expensive he was than Jon Jay in the end.

4. St. Louis Cardinals get 3B Nolan Arenado and $51 million for LHP Austin Gomber, INF Mateo Gil, INF Elehuris Montero, RHP Tony Lacey, and RHP Jake Sommers

This trade appeared to be a fleecing from the start, and that belief has become fact three years later. The Cardinals got themselves an All-Star third baseman for spare parts, most of whom never saw a major league inning. In addition to getting one of the best players in baseball, John Mozeliak somehow also convinced the Rockies to pay for a sizeable chunk of Nolan Arenado's contract. This may be one of the most lopsided trades in baseball history.

Since coming to the Cardinals in 2021, Nolan Arenado has accumulated 13.8 fWAR. He's been to 3 All-Star games, he placed third in MVP voting in 2022, he's received two Gold Glove Awards, and he won the Silver Slugger Award in 2022. Arenado has been nothing short of spectacular in St. Louis.

Of the players who were sent to Colorado, only Austin Gomber and Elehuris Montero have played in the majors. Montero has been worth -0.7 fWAR in two MLB stints, and Gomber has had more modest success with 3.1 fWAR in three seasons with Colorado. Montero (#5 in 2019), Tony Locey (#19) Mateo Gil (#21 in 2020) were all once top-30 organizational prospects, but not one cracked national prospect lists.

The Cardinals were able to keep prized prospects, get a future Hall of Famer, and get the Rockies to pay for part of Arenado's remaining salary. This trade is severely lopsided for the Cardinals, and John Mozeliak did a great job with this trade.