As John Mozeliak's final offseason ends, why Cardinals are stuck near the start of 'reset'

Bundled up in a St.

Patricks Day-green Cardinals jacket, Mary Clifford made her way from the visitors clubhouse at Busch Stadium toward her next stop Ballpark Village and a chance to hear from the teams president of baseball operations.

She came prepared, toting a stocking cap for the chill and a question for John Mozeliak and said as much as she got on an elevator.

That was when she noticed him standing right there beside her.

Not a lot of people are fond of you right now, Clifford said to Mozeliak.

Some birthday greetings.

On his 56th birthday and final one spent leading the Cardinals baseball operations, Mozeliak took the main stage Saturday for whats become a January tradition his question-and-answer session with fans at the Cardinals Care annual Winter Warm-up event.

It was at one years ago that he divulged ending trade talks with the Yankees about Robinson Cano when they asked for Adam Wainwright.

It was on the stage that he predicted, to the groans of fans, the DH coming to the National League years before it did.

And it was there Saturday that he did several things in his last Warm-up Q & A for the first time.

He discussed the teams pivot toward youth, its notably reduced payroll, and publicly commented on the difficulty hes had trading a future Hall of Famer.

Not a lot of topics hes fond of discussing publicly.

I think strategically, (this offseason) has been very different, Mozeliak told the media an hour before meeting with fans.

First time in my career that were sitting up here in the middle of January and, like, literally have done nothing for the roster at this point.

The Cardinals are one of the few remaining teams yet to spend a dollar this offseason on a major-league free agent.

The club would like to go shopping for a late-inning reliever or two, and Mozeliaks eyes are scanning for a right-handed batter for the bench.

All of those plans are in stasis the Cardinals have not made one aggressive offer to a free agent this winter until they trade Nolan Arenado.

Talks with teams have stalled since Arenado, a 10-time Gold Glove winner, used his no-trade clause to reject a trade to Houston.

Mozeliak said if the Cardinals had that deal in place two days before instead of after the Astros traded All-Star outfielder Kyle Tucker to the Cubs, they might have completed the deal.

Arenado remains open to a trade.

The Cardinals and Red Sox have had ongoing talks, and Arenado and the Cardinals see Fenway as a good fit.

But the Cardinals' ability to make that deal rests on where free-agent Alex Bregman signs, and Boston is in the bidding.

To move on to other interests the Cardinals feel they need to trade Arenado.

To trade Arenado, they need Bregman to sign.

So they wait.

And spring training approaches.

Both the Cardinals and Arenado are preparing for the possibility hell be in Jupiter, Florida, when spring training begins.

Mozeliak would not rule out looking for a trade during camp if Arenado was open to that.

It is the linchpin, Mozeliak said of that trade.

I think priority 1, 2, and 3 is still Nolan.

That is updated since priority 1 has already been reached.

The revenue side The two streams of revenue that allowed the Cardinals to punch above their weight and market size for decades, according to Mozeliak, were their broadcast rights deal and ticket sales.

The support of a devoted fan base in both cases gave the Cardinals the advantage of a larger market, and that put them for years in the top third for payroll and revenues.

Those two streams are set to slow.

The Cardinals took a 23% cut in their broadcast fees, down about $17 million.

After two disappointing seasons, the Cardinals also have experienced sluggish ticket sales, and theyre braced for a drop there, having already dipped below 3 million in 2024 for the first time since the new ballpark opened.

By declining options and moving on from free agents, the Cardinals are not bringing back $52 million from last years payroll, the first to top $200 million.

They want to move some of the $74 million remaining on Arenados contract to further help.

If theyre unable, Mozeliak said he would prefer not to trade starters.

Dont really love that idea, he said.

I dont think its a must.

Would it be helpful? Yes.

Again, I dont want to just tear this apart for the sake of just trying to get to a number.

They already are at the number: Less.

Meanwhile, National League rivals such as the Dodgers and Mets are spending more and more.

The rich keep getting richer, and the divide in the economics are becoming much more challenging, Mozeliak told fans.

He had elaborated on this idea earlier to the media: For 25 years, weve always been able to punch above our weight.

...

Were going to have to find that sweet spot between scouting, development and then augmenting with free-agent market.

In terms of us ever operating like one of the teams you mentioned, I dont envision that happening.

That was the subject of a question Mozeliak got from a fan.

He recognized her immediately from the elevator.

Im here for the honesty, said Clifford, a fan from Creve Coeur.

My question: As you said earlier, you notice that the winning teams are spending money.

This season, youre not interested in that so are you not planning on being a winning team this season? Oh, no, answered the exec known as Mo.

We hope to win a lot of baseball games this year.

Spending habits are changing.

The Cardinals expect to win.

Optimistic words That was the sentiment from players on Day 1 of Warm-up.

Infielder Brendan Donovan said, the notion of cutting payroll or were not going to win, like, I dont see that at all.

Sonny Gray echoed that sentiment, suggesting that a youth movement could actually lead to an improved team.

And its not like theres a complete standout team in the NL Central, he said.

The Cardinals approached Gray, the prize free-agent signing a year ago, about whether he would like a trade to a contender.

Empowered by a no-trade clause, he declined.

Although he acknowledged Saturday, he did think about it.

He also thought about how the Cardinals planned reset made sense.

Having been here and having seen how it plays out and learning the organization better, its not shocking, Gray said.

In my opinion, it is needed.

Its not what I thought originally, but I do understand it from an organization standpoint.

The way the game has changed and adapted.

If you get caught as a team, if you get caught in a middle area, if you kind of get caught in the middle, then do you have a direction that youre truly pursuing? ...

I believe you have to pick a direction, and you have to wholeheartedly believe in that direction, and you go for it.

I dont think you can try to go in one direction but be trying to go in another direction at the same time.

Thats what ultimately leaves you in the middle.

That is what the Cardinals outlined at the year-end news conference a move toward development, away from big-league spending and in the same room more than two months later, Mozeliak conceded there has been no movement on the major-league side.

At the end of the offseason, theyre still in the middle of it.

For a resetting team they have a veteran rotation.

But they also have an unproven lineup.

There have been gains beneath the big-league surface.

The Cardinals have doubled their minor-league staffing in some areas, and theyve added new branches to the front office for player development.

Mozeliak estimated theyve increased the spending on player development by 20%-25% some of that is tech, but most of it salaries for new employees.

Asked if these kind of investments were some of the changes he saw, Gray, the likely opening-day starter, said it is something that will be beneficial to the organization as a whole for the next 10 years, yes.

Mozeliak has about 10 months remaining in his role.

He sat on the main stage set to talk about this new paradigm, about spending on the coasts, and including his successor Chaim Bloom in decisions, and he said hed happily field questions if theyre nice ones.

And they mostly were.

One was about how hed be making decisions knowing they might impact the team after his departure.

One was about Arenado, and he joked that a Post-Dispatch reporter hid in the crowd to ask it.

One was Cliffords seminal question.

And one was an invitation.

A father, on behalf of his son, asked if Mozeliak would watch a game with them, in the crowd, at his sons seats, during this coming season.

Mozeliak accepted.

A gift on his birthday.

Got a place to sit for one game, Mozeliak said.

And a new friend..

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