Cardinals Rumors: Will John Mozeliak sell at the trade deadline?
After losing Game 1 of the London Series against the Chicago Cubs in rather embarrassing fashion, John Mozeliak admitted that change was coming. Now, whether that means selling a few perishable items like players on one-year contracts, or a complete rebuild, remains to be seen.
For now, the common thought around baseball is that St. Louis, barring a complete turnaround between now and late July, will sell some expiring contracts in a month. That can include players like Jordan Montgomery and Jack Flaherty. If the Cards opt against keeping their core players around, Paul Goldschmidt could be the next to go — but for now, that’s considered unlikely.
Per MLB Trade Rumors and Cards beat reporter Jeff Jones, Mozeliak’s plans are somewhere in the middle:
"“I would hope the Cardinals are not allowed to rebuild,” Mozeliak told reporters (including Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat), in reference to the “pressure” St. Louis fans put on the team to remain perpetual contenders. This is the only scenario that Mozeliak seems to have ruled out in regards to the trade deadline, since “as we sit here on the 23rd of June, we still don’t know exactly which path we’ll walk. From a front office standpoint, we have to start preparing.”"
A rebuild, it would seem, is off the table for now. But adding by subtracting as the St. Louis front office sees fit is far more likely.