ST. LOUIS — This time of year, there's nobody in St. Louis more scrutinized than Cardinals President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak.
Every move, or lack of a move, from the team during the offseason is broken down by everyone in town.
But Mozeliak and company have pulled off at least one big move this offseason, signing catcher Willson Contreras to take over behind the plate for Yadier Molina.
Mozeliak sat down with 5 On Your Side sports director Frank Cusumano for a Sports Plus interview to talk about the offseason and outlook heading into 2023.
Mozeliak said the decision to sign Contreras was a result of monitoring all their options for a new catcher both on the trade market, and in free agency.
"The trick was, keeping all these balls in the air, but making sure we caught one of them. The worst thing that could've happened is that all the balls are caught, and the Cardinals aren't one of the catchers," Mozeliak said.
The starting rotation has also been high on the topic of conversation list for Cardinals fans this offseason.
"The key really is, where are the innings going to go? Right now we feel like we have six starters for five spots. If you add another starter to that, then you have seven. And you also have some guys who are going to be competing for starting inning spots. VerHagen, possibly Pallante, possibly Thompson... So I want to be really careful how we think through this. I understand that when we're sitting here this time next year, we might only have one pitcher signed. But you might have the emergence of Thompson, or McGreevy, or Graceffo," Mozeliak said.
"We're still very much open for business. But how we think about what the right fit is, or turning some prospects for 'x', it just depends on what that looks like and if we're able to do it."
As he just mentioned, Mozeliak and the Cardinals only have one starting pitcher signed beyond the 2023 season (Steven Matz). And the future of Jack Flaherty in particular will be a hot topic this entire season.
"Hard to say what his future as a Cardinal is. But I would say I'm very excited about where he is. As you can imagine, it hasn't gone as planned over the last few years. But what we saw in 2019 was super exciting, and if we see pieces of that again it can be just what this rotation needs," Mozeliak said.
One of the youngest Cardinals who has fans excited is third baseman/outfielder Jordan Walker. Walker has learned how to play the outfield in an attempt to speed up his path to the majors, and the big-time prospect could have a legitimate shot to make the club out of spring training.
"I think I'd be somewhat surprised (if Walker broke with the club out of spring training)... But I guess this is gonna be for the record, so I'll say, I don't know. I wouldn't be shocked. He's an amazing talent. He's having a great offseason from a physical standpoint. Reports coming in right now are extremely encouraging. I think it's really going to be the ability to adapt to the speed of the game at the major league level," Mozeliak said.
Walker is blocked at third base of course by superstar Nolan Arenado, who recently agreed not to exercise his opt-out and stay in St. Louis. Mozeliak met with Arenado in California before he made his opt-out decision, to talk about the future between the team and their star.
"It was really just more clarity on both sides. I'm lucky I have a very good relationship with him, we're comfortable around each other, so breaking bread is not something awkward or stiff. It was just a very open conversation. It really was just something we both needed to sit down and talk through. But ultimately I'm thrilled he's back and I think he's happy here. He likes playing in St. Louis, likes the environment, likes the community and he knows we're committed to find ways to win," Mozeliak said.
This time of year, everyone has a bone to pick with Mozeliak. And he gets that. But he's also confident in the Cardinals' brain trust making the right decisions for the future of the franchise.
"I love the fact that St. Louis cares about this team. That is a blessing and a curse. The blessing is we draw a lot of fans, we have people that truly and passionately care about what we do, that's super cool. The negative is that sometimes when you're out and about someone has an opinion. And you can't be rude or snarky back, you just have to accept it. But reality is I think we know what we're doing. I'm don't want to sound cocky or arrogant... do we make mistakes? Of course. But I think our time here and what we've accomplished here speaks for itself," Mozeliak.