Mozeliak’s contract extension is ‘springboard’ for next generation of Cardinals leaders

On a back field before stepping in to take batting practice Tuesday morning, Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado approached his boss, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak, with a handshake and a simple message: “Congrats. Welcome back.”

The expected laughs came from all around. Mozeliak was the man who brought Arenado to St. Louis in the first place, and deep down, those around the team thought it was absurd to imagine him going anywhere at all.

That assumption was formalized Tuesday as the team and its top baseball operations executive announced a two-year contract extension which takes Mozeliak through the end of the 2025 season, his 30th year in St. Louis.

It solidifies his place as one of the most consequential off-field figures in team history and will serve as a springboard both to a next generation of leadership and to his own eventual honors as a doubtless member of the Cardinals Hall of Fame.

“Mo has created an environment and leadership with our front office, from a baseball standpoint, that has ensured in my view continued success as we move into the future,” Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. said.

“I was thinking about what I wanted to say today, and I came to one word: I’m lucky,” Mozeliak added, praising DeWitt as, “one of the best owners in all of sport.”

“I’m so fortunate to work with a group of bright, innovative, creative people that are always challenging each other. And so I’m grateful for that,” he added.

If there was one recurring topic during Tuesday’s sunny press conference, aside from praise for the job Mozeliak has done in heading baseball operations through 15 consecutive winning seasons, it was the necessity of establishing a succession plan for leadership as the end of this extension arrives in two years.

Some within the team expected a step back into a senior role, similar to that previously held by Billy Beane in Oakland, as soon as the end of this season. And it is noteworthy that this new contract covers only two additional years rather than the three included in his last deal.

With both Michael Girsch and Randy Flores agreeing to new multi-year contracts following last season rather than pursuing openings throughout the game for which both would be more than qualified, the signals have been clear for quite some time.

It’s now up to DeWitt and Mozeliak to separate them from the noise and make clear their plans for maintaining a model which both believe has been an unqualified success.

“We have excellent people under Mo who have really grown,” DeWitt said. “I think we’ve got a bright future from a personnel standpoint.”

Girsch, the general manager, and assistant general managers Flores, Gary LaRocque, and Moisés Rodríguez were all present for the press conference, and each heard Mozeliak’s pledge to take steps in the coming years to open up, “a little bit more of a look behind the curtain of what I do daily.”

A steady hand

In his tenure at the head of baseball operations, Mozeliak has overseen two World Championships in addition to the 15 consecutive winning seasons, but has also guided the club through some of its most turbulent waters, including the sudden, tragic death of its top prospect and a scandal embroiling the front office which saw a top official eventually serve time in federal prison.

“I think Mo’s got a very steady hand,” DeWitt said. “(If) we have a problem, let’s fix it. I mean, that’s his mentality. It’s not like, oh, what do I do now? He figures out what to do, and I know he’s highly respected (by) those that work for him.”

Part of figuring out what to do is guiding the organization through the rehab of their facility in Florida. With final approval set to come from the Palm Beach County commissioners in April, Roger Dean Stadium and the surrounding complex will be rehabbed and brought up to modern standards.

More from ‘Mo’

DeWitt described that process as the complex being “kind of torn down and we’re building another one,” and Mozeliak acknowledged unfinished projects were a theme of his conversations with DeWitt over recent months as they worked together to chart out of his future.

“There are some projects within that I just think would be helpful to still have me around for,” Mozeliak said. “Short term, you’ll still get me for a little bit. But as we get deeper into this contract, there will be some changes.”

Eventually, those changes will include his permanent enshrinement in the team’s Hall of Fame. When DeWitt was asked about that eventuality, Mozeliak dropped his head sheepishly in a rare moment of public humbling and embarrassment. Like so many players, he seemed uneasy at the thought of his accomplishments being aired in public.

‘My job is to keep it going’

He will, in time, get over it. And he will, in time, receive the celebration befitting a figure of his importance in the team’s storied history.

“He certainly has the credentials to be among that group,” DeWitt acknowledged. “The Cardinals have such a rich history that I was fortunate to be able to inherit when I came on the scene. And as I said at the time, and continue to say it, my job is to keep it going.”

That job has been shared with Mozeliak for the better part of three decades, and will be remembered well and fondly.