Cardinals: 5 MLB trade deadline mistakes John Mozeliak will regret

The Cardinals accomplished their to-do list for the MLB Trade Deadline Tuesday, but some moves weren’t made that President of baseball operations John Mozeliak could soon regret.

Mozeliak and the Cards went into this deadline to aim to improve their pitching for the future. The team made several moves to complete that goal. But some deals were not done that could create more headaches as the club’s miserable 2023 campaign ends.

The deals completed by the Cardinals include Jordan Hicks to the Toronto Blue Jays for RHP Adam Kloffenstein and RHP Sem Robberse; Jordan Montgomery and Chris Stratton to the Texas Rangers for LHP John King, RHP Tekoah Roby, and SS Thomas Saggese; Paul DeJong and cash to the Toronto Blue Jays for RHP Matt Svanson; and Jack Flaherty to the Baltimore Orioles for 2B César Prieto, LHP Drew Rom and RHP Zack Showalter.

That’s seven new pitchers that the Cardinals are adding to their system, with only King joining the 40-man roster in the bullpen.

It will be interesting to see where the remainder of the new pitchers will land as they will likely remain in the minors at AAA Memphis, AA Springfield, or High-A Peoria. The Cards have several talented pitching prospects, including Michael McGreevy, Gordon Graceffo, Cooper Hjerpe, and Tink Hence. These deadline moves add desperately needed depth and could allow some prospects to get promotions within the system.

The new arrivals should be making their way to St. Louis or their training facility in Jupiter, Fla., and fans should have a better grasp of what to expect moving forward.

Let’s consider what moves could have been made and how Mozeliak may grow to regret those non-moves.