Breaking down John Mozeliak's St. Louis Cardinals insights on 101 ESPN

Mozeliak on pitchers

Starting pitching was the issue in the offseason, and Mozeliak said in the Winter Warm-Up meetings that the team wasn’t very active in pursuing starters, choosing to trust the rotation it had. He appeared to backtrack on those comments somewhat in the interview, saying there were starters the team was engaged with.

If the Cardinals were seeking a free-agent pitcher, it doesn’t appear they were looking at the top arms, choosing instead to complement the rotation they had already decided on. Still, if Mozeliak’s latest comments are true, it could confirm many fans’ fears that many players aren’t interested in playing in St. Louis. 

Mozeliak’s quote about all the starters the team was engaged with being on the injured list or not playing well seems to be a convenient out for him. It appears that the team dodged a bullet that it was trying to get in the way of, so while I can give some credit to the team for likely not offering dump trucks of money to these free agents, much of this looks to be luck smiling upon the front office.

The front office continually bangs the drum of developing talent from within, and while there are serious questions about well how the team is doing with that nowadays, Matthew Liberatore might be a recent success story for the Cardinals’ development team. Liberatore won the minor leagues’ International League Pitcher of the Month Award in April, and upon promotion, he pitched well in his season debut for the Cardinals, going five innings and allowing three hits while striking out six and allowing no runs. The only blemish was the three walks allowed.

Mozeliak suggested that Liberatore will be in the bullpen before receiving another start when it’s his turn in the new six-man rotation. Personally, I think the Cardinals should stop messing with Liberatore’s roles and make him a permanent piece of the rotation. I’m not opposed to a six-man rotation, but the Cardinals appear hesitant to move Steven Matz to the bullpen given the sizable contract the team gave him.

The Cardinals might still have reservations about Liberatore. A graphic from Eno Sarris about Liberatore’s Stuff+ stat shows that he was underwhelming in what he threw, even though the results were positive. He also only threw two pitches for the majority of his outing: a fastball and a curveball. Very few pitchers are able to survive in a rotation with only two pitches.

Despite these qualms, the current rotation isn’t something to write home about, so Liberatore might as well get some starts until he proves that he isn’t fit for the job.

Mozeliak also made comments on some of the drama surrounding their position players.

Mozeliak on position players

The Cardinals’ outfield situation is murky, and Mozeliak admitted that the season hasn’t progressed in the way he or the front office expected regarding the outfield situation. Originally projected as a strength of the team, the outfield has seen injuries to Tyler O’Neill and Dylan Carlson along with Jordan Walker’s demotion, so the team has had to utilize its players’ versatility by placing Brendan Donovan and Tommy Edman in the outfield. 

The most glaring takeaway from Mozeliak’s comments about the outfield is his pointed comments about O’Neill and the implication that O’Neill isn’t showing up to play every day even when he isn’t feeling his best. There can be debates over the severity of the pain that a player needs to play through, but it seems clear that Mozeliak is unhappy with O’Neill’s effort. This issue with injuries compounds the controversy earlier in the season when O’Neill was blamed for not hustling in a play at the plate so he would avoid injury.

The other major controversy this season was with Willson Contreras and his removal from the catcher spot. Mozeliak said that Contreras needed to get on the same page with the pitchers, but this once again is deflecting the entirety of the blame onto Contreras, which isn’t fair. The Cardinals seemed to take Yadier Molina’s production for granted after so many years, and although Contreras came to the team as the same catcher he always was, that wasn’t enough for the Cardinals brass.

The pitchers needed to execute with Contreras behind the plate, and while Contreras’ preparation or lack thereof was cited as something he needed to work on, maybe the pitchers also needed to do their part in their preparation with Contreras. 

Mozeliak is very good at providing answers to questions while keeping the Cardinals’ inner workings close to his chest. However, fans could still gain a few insights into his perspective on the team through this interview. It’s been a tumultuous season for Mozeliak and company, but despite a few wrinkles still needing to be ironed out, it appears things are beginning to click on the field and in the front office.