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.

2. St. Louis Cardinals acquire RHP Giovanny Gallegos and RHP Chasen Shreve for 1B Luke Voit.

On July 29th, 2018, John Mozeliak worked a trade that sent first baseman Luke Voit to the New York Yankees for relievers Giovanny Gallegos and Chasen Shreve. Luke Voit was expendable due to Paul Goldschmidt's inclusion on the team, and the roster needed some pitching depth.

Gallegos was sent to AAA Memphis immediately after the trade, and he made his first appearances for the Cardinals later that year. Since the trade, Gallegos has accumulated 6.2 fWAR in 5 seasons. He has 44 saves during his time in St. Louis, and his consistency at the back end of the bullpen has been a stabilizing feature for the right-handed reliever.

Conversely, Luke Voit has accumulated 4.1 fWAR since his departure from St. Louis. Voit had a decent showing in his first few years in the Bronx, but he struggled in 2021, 2022, and 2023 while playing for a variety of teams.

Though Gallegos's 2023 performance left plenty to be desired, he was still a top-7 reliever in all of baseball according to a variety of metrics between 2019 and 2022. In that span, he threw 228.1 innings with a 2.84 ERA, 2.83 FIP, 0.893 WHIP, and an ERA+ of 142. He placed 15th among relievers in ERA, 8th in FIP, and 6th in total fWAR in his first 4 years in St. Louis.

While Gallegos has been durable, reliable, and consistent for the Cardinals, Luke Voit has struggled to maintain his performance from earlier in the trade. What was once a lopsided deal in favor of the Yankees has since become a victory for the Cardinals.

Gallegos is entering the last year of his contract with St. Louis, so he can become a free agent at the end of the year. If he can perform as well as he did early in his career with the Redbirds, an extension is possible. Giovanny Gallegos, for as forgotten as he is on the national stage, has been a consistent reliever who has provided wonderful innings in relief since the Cardinals acquired him in 2018.

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.