The St. Louis Cardinals will honor president of baseball operations John Mozeliak on Sunday after decades with the team. Mozeliak has overseen double-digit postseason contenders in St. Louis, and even won a World Series with the Cardinals. As much flack as he receives these days, there's little denying that Mo built a legacy with the franchise. Not even he knows what comes next, as he addressed in an interview with USA Today's Bob Nightengale this weekend.
“There’s a lot of mixed emotion," Mozeliak told USA TODAY Sports. “I know it’s the right time, but the thing that’s scary is how does one spend their time now?...My schedule has been just so routine for so long and to think all of a sudden, 'Look, I don’t have to be somewhere.’ That is so bizarre. And then there’s sort of the understanding you don’t really have a role in anything right now."
Mozeliak is dealing with a problem many middle-aged workers must come to terms with upon their own retirement: Where do I go from here? Whether it's another job in baseball or spending more time with his family, odds are Mozeliak will be more valued in that line of work than he has been in St. Louis the last few seasons.
John Mozeliak – and the St. Louis Cardinals – are at a crossroads
Ever since the Cardinals fired Mike Shildt in 2021, they've been on a downward spiral. A retool – and perhaps even a rebuild – is necessary under Chaim Bloom, who will take over for Mo in just a few days. Mozeliak wasn't shy about how he views the Cardinals prospects on his way out the door. In doing so, he gave both fans and the Cards' rivals some insight into the team's roadmap back to the top of the NL Central.
“I don’t fear going through (a rebuild)," Mozeliak told Nightengale, “but I do think it’s time for a fresh voice. I felt like where the organization was, something had to give. I felt like it started with me, and it was either really trying to do a major reset or let someone else come in and give it a shot."
Bloom is that person. The former Rays and Red Sox president of baseball operations is looking for a chance to rebuild his own reputation along with the Cardinals roster. Bloom has already been involved with the Cards front office for the past year, if not longer, getting an idea for ownership's mindset and the expectations of a rabid fanbase. He will also take over a franchise that has seen declining numbers in television viewership and attendance from that very fanbase – a feat that was previously unthinkable – due to a lack of direction.
Is Chaim Bloom ready to lead the Cardinals into the future?
It is Bloom's job to find that direction, and inject some much-needed youth and excitement into a middling roster. That starts with determining the fates of Nolan Arenado, Brendan Donovan and Sonny Gray, among other veterans who were signed prior to this season with hopes of a postseason run that never occurred. As it pertains to what St. Louis fans deserve, Mozeliak said it best in one of his last comments in Nightengale's column.
“St. Louis is just a storied franchise, with so much passion, and such a beautiful baseball city,’’ Mozeliak says. “It has such a generational fanbase. They really do appreciate baseball, but they also demand winning. It’s hard to do it year in and year out. But the consistency of sustained success, we achieved that. I really hope that when people look back at my time here, they appreciate that."
Cardinals fans do appreciate sustained success, but lately there's been little of that, and nothing to look forward to. The franchise is stuck in the middle, while rivals like the Brewers, Cubs and Reds have an upward trajectory.
Mozeliak is right, in that this was the right time for a changing of the guard. What comes next could very well determine the fate of the NL Central for the next half-decade.