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

John Mozeliak went on 101 ESPN and offered some interesting insights on the current state of the Cardinals

The front office of the St. Louis Cardinals came under fire early in the season after its awkward removal of Willson Contreras from the catcher position and the tussle with Tyler O’Neill on his questionable effort in games. Management wasn't free from the criticism either, as Marmol's callout of O'Neill rubbed many fans the wrong way. However, the heat has lessened of late as the Cardinals have been on a surge after enduring rough seas in April and early May.

The recent stretch of elite offense has revitalized the Cardinals, and the starting pitching has also managed to do its part as of late, leading the team to win nine of its last 11 games. On May 18, the Cardinals provided historic production at the plate, clobbering seven home runs, their most in a game in 27 years, and trounced the Los Angeles Dodgers 16-8. Suddenly, everything looks rosy for the team even with its 19-26 record, and fans are beginning to believe in the team again.

Cardinals President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak arrived on the St. Louis sports radio station 101 ESPN in the midst of the team’s turnaround to answer some questions about recent events affecting the Cardinals and provide a look into his thoughts on the team as it stands now. While Mozeliak's comments are always cloaked in an air of mystery, there were still some nuggets to take away from his latest interview.

This is a glance at John Mozeliak's comments 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.