John Mozeliak makes crystal clear how badly Cardinals are botching supposed 'reset'

This offseason was looking like it was going to be an eventful one for the St. Louis Cardinals in John Mozeliak's final season running the organization's baseball operations. Yes, Mozeliak made it clear that the team didn't intend to compete in 2025, but that, in theory, meant rebuilding types of moves would be taking place. This would mean veterans would be traded to not only add more youth to the organization, but also to open up playing time for young players.

Well, not only have the Cardinals refused to sign a single player to an MLB contract, but they also have yet to make a single trade. They've been as inactive as any team in the majors, which has been infuriating to their passionate fan base.

Not wanting to add payroll while rebuilding makes some sense, but Mozeliak's explanation as to why the team is refusing to spend money is one that shows St. Louis' self-proclaimed 'reset' is off to a rough start.

“My ultimate goal was to try and create a pretty clean slate for my successor and new management team,” president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said last week, tucking this revealing description into a longer answer. “So they would have the ability to do really whatever they wanted to do.”

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John Mozeliak makes it crystal clear that he needs to step down from running Cardinals baseball operations

Former Boston Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom is expected to take the reins from Mozeliak after the 2025 season. If Mozeliak's ultimate offseason goal is to create a clean slate for his successor, why doesn't he just let said successor take over now? How is this situation good for anybody? Mozeliak has done nothing, which can't be fun, and the Cardinals don't benefit from that.

What if Bloom thought it was a good idea to, say, take advantage of the declining markets for stars like Pete Alonso and Alex Bregman? That wouldn't be a rebuilding kind of move and would add to their payroll for the short and potentially long-term future, but there could be good value there. What if Bloom thought the Cardinals could use a reliever? That might add to their payroll for next season if that reliever signs a multi-year deal, but, again, there could be value there, especially with Ryan Helsley entering his final year of club control.

Speaking of Helsley, what if Bloom thought it'd be a good idea to trade him coming off an outstanding year to get a ton of value in return before potentially losing him next offseason? What if Bloom thought it would be a good idea to part with starting pitchers on expiring contracts like Erick Fedde, Steven Matz, and Miles Mikolas? Mozeliak doesn't appear interested in making either of those moves, especially if the Cardinals are unable to trade Nolan Arenado, but Bloom might.

If Mozeliak's final year running the team was going to be filled with moves he feels are best for the future, then yes, it makes at least some sense to keep him around for one last hurrah. If his moves are solely for him to do what he believes his successor would want, why doesn't he just let that successor take over? Bloom might run things exactly how Mozeliak has been, but at least it would make more sense.