The St. Louis Cardinals just made their best move of the offseason

Extending John Mozeliak was the best thing the Cardinals could have done this winter

The St. Louis Cardinals began ramping up for the 2023 season with pitchers and catchers reporting, but the attention quickly turned back to off-the-field news in a big way. After some whispers over the last few months about John Mozeliak's future in St. Louis, the club has agreed to an extension through the 2025 season, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Mozeliak has been a part of the organization since 1996 and became the general manager in the 2007 offseason. He was promoted to his current role as president of baseball operations in 2017. It's hard to find executives in today's game with a stronger resume than Mozeliak, and he has positioned the club to be legit contenders for the duration of his extension and beyond.

On top of his own success, Mozeliak has been wise to raise up key front office members like general manager Michael Girsch and assistant general manager and director of scouting Randy Flores. The Cardinals have a rich history of sustained success in the game of baseball, while also winning more championships than any other club not named the New York Yankees.

Acquiring Willson Contreras was a huge move for the Cardinals moving forward, but nothing compares to locking down the guy who has built up one of the strongest farm systems in baseball, continued to make shrewd moves in acquiring superstars via trade, and looks to be the guy to lead the Cardinals into their next World Series window. It's been trendy to rag on Mozeliak and get frustrated with the "lack of moves", but he consistently does more with less, and rarely makes a bad move. No, he's not perfect, but Cardinals fans would surely miss him if he was gone.

Great move, St. Louis. Now that Mozeliak and his front office are locked up long-term, it's time to focus on the development of this club and keep their eyes open for their next few moves to make themselves true contenders in 2023.