John Mozeliak’s farewell tour was supposed to be a smooth ride. Instead, it feels like watching a GPS endlessly reroute—resetting, transitioning, recalculating. The Cardinals had a plan—or at least, they said they did. But now? It’s as clear as a foggy night at Busch Stadium.

“The worst place to be, virtually every baseball executive will say, is in the middle“, said Ken Rosenthal. And yet there they are—too flawed to compete, too stable to reestablish. They had opportunity to choose a direction. Instead, they hesitated, leaving fans to question if this transformation is merely a costly, drawn out delay.

Cardinals’ offseason contradictions

Back in October, William O. DeWitt Jr., and John Mozeliak preached patience. “Our number one priority will be to lay the foundation for a sustained period of competitive excellence in the years ahead“, DeWitt Jr. assured. John Mozeliak backed him up, saying, “This is a reset, yes. This is going to be where we are not necessarily building the best possible roster we can“. The message was sharp—short-period pain for long-period gain.

However after a few months, the “reset” has started to feel more like a rerun. The Cardinals kept Erick Fedde, who recorded a 3.30 ERA over 177 1/3 innings split between White Sox and Cardinals. And Ryan Helsley, who paced the majors with 49 saves in 53 chances, instead of cashing on trade assets. “If the Cardinals could not move third baseman Nolan Arenado, they should have at least dealt closer Ryan Helsley and right-hander Erick Fedde“, Ken Rosenthal said.

However, the front office remained steadfast and returned with almost the same 83-79 lineup from the 2024 season. But Paul Goldschmidt, who hit .245 with 22 home runs and 65 RBIs in the 2024 season, has been replaced. In addition, they cut ties with Lance Lynn, Kyle Gibson and Andrew Kittredge.

How the transition to Chaim Bloom complicates the future

The upcoming leadership transition is a vital part of this misunderstanding. The Cardinals gave John Mozeliak a final offseason instead of enabling Chaim Bloom, who will soon take over as the new head of baseball operations, carry out his plan. They may have prevented a more aggressive reset of the team because of this delay. As Rosenthal speculated, “If DeWitt had ordered Bloom to take over immediately, rather than provide John Mozeliak a farewell tour, perhaps they would have done just that.” This hesitation left the team stuck between two timelines—Mozeliak’s reluctance to tear things down and Bloom’s assumed long-period approach.

Keeping the market in mind, the Cardinals could have acquired valuable young talent by trading Ryan Helsley and Erick Fedde. For instance, the Brewers traded closer Devin Williams for infield prospect Caleb Durbin and Nestor Cortes Jr. The Cardinals could have ensured a solid comeback by using Helsley. As his 49 saves this season made him one of the league’s most valuable relievers.

In contrast to their original commitment to a long-term plan, they instead resorted to a win-now mentality. John Mozeliak himself acknowledged the uncertainty by saying, “This club could be good and it could struggle. A lot of it just depends on how people obviously step up and play“. However, that is exactly the issue—pushing for contention—was never intended to happen around 2025. It was anticipated to occur in 2026 and later. By managing veterans rather than acquiring young assets, John Mozeliak’s farewell tour may have made Bloom’s assignment more tough then needed.

The Cardinals had an opportunity to lay a strong foundation for the future. Instead, they chose to stay in the limbo, caught between competing and re-establishing. With John Mozeliak stepping aside and Bloom stepping in, the question remains—will this front office finally commit to a real reset? Will the Cardinals continue to drift in the middle? Fans deserve an answer.