St. Louis Cardinals’ leader focuses on 2023 season as his contract is expiring

Eager to defend his offseason proclamation of an increasing payroll at the same time he readily pointed out the challenges in player procurement, St. Louis Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak kicked off Winter Warm-Up Saturday by declaring his excitement for the team as is while simultaneously conceding he expected to have done more to improve it.

“When we reflect back on the offseason, there were certainly some things we were hoping to do that we weren’t able to accomplish,” Mozeliak said in his opening statement to the assembled media. “Our number one goal was to obviously add a catcher; we were fortunate enough to do that. And then a lot of things sort of unfolded or transpired that necessarily didn’t break the way we had hoped.”

“Net net,” by Mozeliak’s estimation, the club that’s set to enter spring training in Jupiter in just less than a month makes him, “excited about what we have.”

From the day of Willson Contreras’s signing, he seemed destined to be the team’s most impactful offseason addition. Indeed, aside from minor league reliever Guillermo Zuniga and Rule 5 draft pick Wilking Rodríguez, he was the only offseason addition. That necessarily puts an increased onus on players already in the fold to improve their performances if the team is going to be a championship contender. Mozeliak did not shy away from that assessment.

“The key for the St. Louis Cardinals as you think about 2023 is really going to be, who are we?,” Mozeliak mused. “And what I mean by that is, what is Tyler O’Neill? What is Dylan Carlson? What are we going to get out of Jack Flaherty?

“If these guys perform to the expectations that we believe they’re capable of, we think we’re going to be a very talented and competitive and compelling team to watch.”

To lay the success or failure of the season at the feet of three players is a bold, but not necessarily incorrect, assessment of the state of the team on Jan. 14. Without reinforcing either the outfield or the rotation in the offseason, for the Cardinals to ascend from an also-ran division winner to a contender for the National League pennant will require a return to form from at least two, if not all three, of those players.

Will the Cardinals sign more players?

Mozeliak acknowledged that the team was not heavily engaged in the market for either starters or high-dollar shortstops this winter, and said instead the focus was on adding an additional left-handed bat that could act as a complimentary piece, in much the same way Corey Dickerson was meant to do ahead of the 2022 season.

“I don’t think we were a very compelling team to come to, because when you look at our roster, there is competition for who that might be,” he conceded. “And I think some people just did not find that all that interesting.”

With those options no longer on the market – the Cardinals seemingly view the David Peraltas and Tyler Naquins of the world as insufficient improvements over their internal options – the perpetual powder largely remained dry. Signing Contreras to a record contract, in addition to raises awarded in arbitration, did indeed result in a nominally increased payroll, but to hear Mozeliak tell it, also left room for moves in season.

“Do we have bandwidth to still add to this club throughout the year? Yes, we do,” he said.

“The way we operate is we’re going to invest in what we think are smart investments, prudent, but also investments that understand that could have a backside negativity or loss.

“We’re not just going to spend to spend. My guess is by the season’s end, it’ll probably be spent.”

Last season’s additions of José Quintana, Chris Stratton and Jordan Montgomery followed those of JA Happ and Jon Lester the year prior. Despite many years of sitting out the deadline, the Cardinals in the last two seasons have indeed made supplementary – if not headline – additions in the midst of the season that put the team on a path toward a division title.

That path, though, has yet to lead out of the postseason, and by the time the Cardinals next have a shot at breaking the trend, they’ll be three years removed from their last victory in a postseason game.

Whether Mozeliak remains in his current position to see the next championship – or even the next playoff victory – is currently an open question. He confirmed Saturday that his contract expires at the end of the 2023 season and that he’s discussed his future with chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. while simultaneously expressing a desire not to be a distraction to the club on the field.

“I’m not overly focused on my contract or what 2024 looks like yet,” he said. “I’m really not. But, you know, I’m excited about getting down to Jupiter. I’m excited about 2023. But clearly, it’s a very important franchise, I understand the importance of the St. Louis Cardinals.”

In the midst of one transition away from franchise icons, and with one more announced for this summer, Mozeliak’s could potentially represent the most substantial sea change. The offseason may not have been precisely what he imagined; whether he has a personal vision for next year’s remains to be seen.

This story was originally published January 14, 2023 at 4:26 PM.