MLB trade grades: Cardinals end John Mozeliak era with a whimper

Some might argue that the St. Louis Cardinals have exceeded expectations to this point in 2025, but in John Mozeliak's eyes, the team wasn't good enough to compete for the postseason. Given that, the team has decided to trade its rentals. Ryan Helsley was sent to the New York Mets, Steven Matz was dealt to the Boston Red Sox, and now, Phil Maton is a Texas Ranger, according to The Athletic's Katie Woo. With Mozeliak ceding control of St. Louis' baseball operations to Chaim Bloom after the season, there's a good chance this is the last trade he makes. It's a bit of a whimper.

This is nothing against Maton, who was better than anyone could've expected in St. Louis. However, Mozeliak didn't exactly bring any sort of splash to St. Louis. I mean, even the Helsley return, while decent, felt like it left a bit to be desired.

It remains to be seen how this trade will age, but judging by how the Mozeliak era has gone lately, there's little reason to be overly optimistic.

For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB season.

John Mozeliak's Cardinals era ends with underwhelming deadline buzzer-beater

Cardinals trade grade: B-

The Cardinals deserve credit for picking a direction and selling their expiring contracts. Getting international bonus money is a good thing, but it feels like the Cardinals could've done a bit better on the return front for Maton, who has had an excellent season.

Mason Molina, Texas' No. 27 prospect per MLB Pipeline, is the headliner here, and it'll be a while before we see him approach the majors. He's had a solid start to his professional career, posting a 3.41 ERA in 18 appearances (17 starts) and 74 innings of work. He's currently in High-A. He's shown some solid strikeout stuff, as evidenced by his 92 strikeouts in just 74 innings, but walks can be an issue at times.

The second player acquired was Skylar Hales, a 23-year-old reliever who has an ERA just a shade under 8.00 in 34 appearances split between Double-A and Triple-A. Hales has good stuff, but he has a major home run problem. Some of that can be attributed to pitching in the PCL, but he's going to have to improve in that area before being relied on in the majors. Giving up seven home runs in 33 innings of work just isn't going to cut it.

Overall, this isn't a terrible return, but the best piece acquired is several years away from making an impact at the MLB level. The return was never going to be great for Maton, an older reliever on an expiring contract, but considering how expensive the reliever market was, it would've been nice to have seen a bit of a better return.

Rangers trade grade: B+

For the Rangers, they accomplished their No. 1 priority by bolstering the bullpen. They acquired Danny Coulombe earlier in the day, and now, they've landed Maton. Both of these relievers are older veterans on expiring contracts, but both are in the midst of outstanding seasons.

Maton has been the Cardinals' eighth-inning man all season long and has excelled in that role, as his 2.35 ERA in 40 appearances would indicate. He's allowed just one home run all year, and despite prioritizing softer stuff, he's struck out 48 batters in 38.1 innings of work. Expect him to be used often late in games, and with Chris Martin sidelined, he might even get some closing opportunities in situations where right-handed hitters are due up. Righties notably have a .582 OPS against Maton this season.

The Rangers didn't part with anything of major importance, and improved a weakness in a big way. There's nothing to complain about here, as they attempt to win the World Series.