As he has done numerous times over the last 18 years, St. Louis Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak mounted the four stairs leading up to the St. Louis Cardinals media podium Monday afternoon, took a seat, took a deep breath, and proceeded to address the crowd.
Everyone recognized the significance of the event. After 30 years with the Cardinals and nearly two decades as the organization’s top executive, Mozeliak’s last news conference was one of reflection, appreciation, and, of course, evaluation.
As he has done numerous times over the last 18 years, St. Louis Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak mounted the four stairs leading up to the St. Louis Cardinals media podium Monday afternoon, took a seat, took a deep breath, and proceeded to address the crowd.
Everyone recognized the significance of the event. After 30 years with the Cardinals and nearly two decades as the organization’s top executive, Mozeliak’s last news conference was one of reflection, appreciation, and, of course, evaluation.
Over 30 Cardinals employees attended Mozeliak’s remarks, including his successor Chaim Bloom, assistant general managers Moisés RodrÃguez, Randy Flores, and Rob Cerfolio, former general manager Mike Girsch, manager Oli Marmol, and members of the amateur scouting and baseball development teams. Chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. presented Mozeliak and hailed his “long-term impact” on the company as “immeasurable.”
“I personally enjoyed working closely with Mo over these many years,” DeWitt Jr. told reporters. “I shall miss the day-to-day interactions. We wish him the best in his future chapter, and I can guarantee you that he will always be welcome at Busch Stadium.”
Mozeliak’s stint as president of baseball operations includes ten playoff appearances, six National League Central division championships, two pennants, and a World Series championship in 2011. From 2008 until 2022, he had a franchise-record 15 straight winning seasons, and his 1,521 victories led the National League throughout that time.
Despite Mozeliak’s accomplishments, the Cardinals ended 78-84, fourth in the division, 19 games behind the first-place Milwaukee Brewers. St. Louis had its second losing season in three years and has missed the playoffs each of the previous three years.
Mozeliak was open about the purpose of this season. Known as a transition year, the goal was to win as many games as possible without sacrificing player development. This year, the Cardinals anticipated that numerous young players would make progress and help to speed up the reconstruction.
When questioned if he felt the group had done this, Mozeliak conceded that it hadn’t gone as far as he had hoped.
“Probably not as clearly as we hoped,” he said. “I believe there were some guys we wanted to learn more about, but in the end, I think that’s the challenge of this summer and what lays ahead in the future.
“One takeaway I have from this year is that many of the younger guys learned a lot. Maybe they didn’t make the correct modifications or make them quickly enough, but maybe they learn from it.”
The poor seasons of Nolan Gorman and Jordan Walker will highlight a runway in 2026, but they will not define it. Brendan Donovan, Alec Burleson, and Iván Herrera had breakout seasons, while Masyn Winn, Michael McGreevy, and Kyle Leahy established themselves as players to develop on. Despite their difficulties, the Cardinals excelled above expectations. They remained in playoff contention until the final series of the season, finishing five games behind. It’s reasonable to wonder if the organization’s focus on development over winning cost them a postseason spot, but Mozeliak disagrees.
“I was reflecting back on the season last night,” stated the coach. “You consider close games in which you lose or give up the lead in the ninth or extra innings.” That’s why, as a manager or coach, you’re always attempting to convince players that everything matters. It may not feel like it right now, but it does. And when you finish (a few) games out or enter the final series only to be eliminated, it demonstrates how close these margins are.
“I don’t regret anything we did this year in the sense of we knew it was going to be difficult to thread this needle,” says Mozeliak. “If we look back, would it have been wiser to try to move some of the guys we ended up moving in the offseason? But we wanted to offer our fans optimism. We wanted to see whether a few of guys connected and got heated. Unfortunately, we came up short.”
Perhaps this is how Mozeliak’s final year should be remembered. He had the option of stalling another season, complicated issues for Bloom’s front team and possibly postponing a rebuild for another season. Instead, he made an effort to improve the organization’s future. That mistake lost the Cardinals a chance to slip into the wild-card slot, which was made possible by the New York Mets’ historic collapse. However, it also signals that ownership is no longer interested in winning the wild-card participation trophy.
The aim under Bloom, and the reason Mozeliak and the Cardinals opted to conduct the 2025 season in this manner, is to convert the team from a marginal contender to a serious power in the NL once more. Each choice, from restricting free-agent acquisitions during the winter to selling elite relievers at the deadline to sticking with young guys in the starting lineup despite long-term slumps, was made with the long term in mind.
“I think we made the right decision,” Mozeliak remarked. “I believe the acquisition of some of the young talent we obtained will benefit the organization. Future roster selections will be made by a separate group, but doing what’s best for the organization has always been on my mind.
These roster selections, along with many others, have already begun to be made. Bloom will be officially presented as the Cardinals’ new president of baseball operations on Tuesday at 10 a.m. CT. Both Bloom and DeWitt Jr. will host a press conference at Busch Stadium to discuss the club’s direction.
For the first time in 18 years, a fresh voice will lead the Cardinals. In his final season, the previous voice did everything he could to usher in a new age.
