JUPITER, Fla. — During the three years of his new contract finalized and announced Tuesday morning, Cardinals executive John Mozeliak intends to see some changes to his front office, his responsibilities, and how decisions are made for the team's baseball operations.
Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. introduced a new three-year contract for Mozeliak on Tuesday morning that extends an existing contract two years through 2025. That will give Mozeliak three decades as a member of the Cardinals' baseball operations staff and 18 as its top executive.
"We are very pleased about this," DeWitt said of completing the contract months ahead of when Mozeliak's previous extension expired.
Mozeliak used the the word "stability" to describe what his longevity has provided, and DeWitt echoed that with his comments.
Mozeliak also acknowledged the goal to give his staff upward mobility.
"I know there is going to be some change coming over the next few years," Mozeliak said. "We certainly want to give individuals within the organization opportunities to grow and expand some of their roles and over the course of the next year or so we’ll work through that."
Mozeliak's front office brain trust has been in place since at least 2016. Michael Girsch has been general manager since 2017, and Moises Rodriguez, one of several assistant general managers now, was moved into that role in 2017 as well.
Mozeliak specifically said during his press conference Wednesday that in the coming year he wants to share more of what he does in his "day to day" role leading baseball operations, and that the responsibilities and influence of others would grow as a result.
Girsch has been pursued by other teams to interview for a position leading baseball operations, and he turned an interview with the New York Mets about that role. Matt Slater, a special adviser to the general manager and part of the Cardinals' player procurement group, was considered for the general manager position in Detroit this past offseason.
Randy Flores, who has helmed the Cardinals' draft since 2016, is viewed within the industry as a rising candidate to lead a baseball operations group, as is Rodriguez, who led and had remained active in the international scouting.
DeWitt and Mozeliak came to an agreement on his extension within the past week. Ownership sought Mozeliak's continued leadership of the baseball operations department, and Mozeliak said part of his interest in remaining was "unfinished projects" and guiding the front office toward its next phase or regime.
The Cardinals have had 15 consecutive winning seasons with Mozeliak leading the baseball operations group.
They have reached the playoffs 10 times in that stretch, including the past three consecutive seasons. The club won the World Series in 2011, his fourth season as general manager, but have not returned to the Fall Classic since 2013. The Cardinals begin this season looking for their first postseason series win since 2019.
During Mozeliak's tenure the Cardinals have greatly expanded their use of analytics, modern tech, and found ways to blend that with the more traditional arts of scouting. They have also been guided through turbulence that included a federal investigation for hacking and the sudden firing of manager Mike Shildt after he was critical of some decisions and philosophies guiding the team.
DeWitt agreed with that description that Mozeliak has brought a "steady hand" during stretches of significant change or challenge.
"We’re in a really good position," DeWitt said. "Won 93 games last year with terrific veterans and young players who came through the season and graduated out of the minor leagues and made a big impact, and I know will make a continued impact in the future. The good news is that despite that success and movement of young players into leading roles with our current team, we still have a top-ranked farm system. That’s hard to do. It’s hard to win and continue to develop, draft and develop, at the same time.
"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 moved into the future," DeWitt said. "He has great people working under him."
