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John Mozeliak (born January 18, 1969) is an American professional baseball executive who served as general manager and president of baseball operations of the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2007 to 2025. Never a professional player, Mozeliak originally came to the Cardinals in 1995 as then-GM Walt Jocketty's assistant.
Mozeliak's tenure included 10 postseason berths, two National League pennants, and a World Series championship in 2011. He posted a franchise-record 15 consecutive winning seasons from 2008 to 2022, and his 1,521 wins are the most in the NL during that span. During his time, the Cardinals' minor league farm team received numerous accolades following the volume of prospects that succeeded at the major league level, including Baseball America bestowing the franchise with the Organization of the Year Award in 2011 and 2013.
While other candidates interviewed for the GM position, it appeared Cleveland Indians assistant GM Chris Antonetti was the early favorite. However, Indians ownership improved Antonetti's offer to take over the full GM position and enticed him to stay. On the evening of October 30, 2007, Mozeliak accepted the Cardinals' offer and the team formally introduced him as the new GM the next day.
However, Berkman dramatically improved his physical shape in the offseason. Early the next season, hitting coach Mark McGwire corrected a flaw in Berkman's swing that had been introduced by leg injuries and he responded with a .301 batting average, 31 home runs and 94 RBIs. His 164 OPS+ was the highest of his career and his accolades for the year included an All-Star appearance, the NL Comeback Player of the Year award and seventh place in the MVP voting.
Still 10.5 games short of the wild card berth after 130 games on August 25, the Cardinals ended the season on a 22-9 run while capitalizing on the Atlanta Braves' collapse to avoid elimination on the season's final day, capping one of Major League Baseball's epic regular-season comebacks. Dotel and Rzepczynski proved to factor significantly in making up the 10.5 games as they helped stabilize questionable bullpen performance. Dotel posted a 3.28 ERA and strikeout 32 of the 96 batters he faced. Rzepczynski posted a 3.97 ERA. Jackson started twelve games for the Cardinals and posted a 3.58 ERA, winning five games and losing two. The 10.5 games-won deficit is also the highest-surmounted at 130 games in MLB history.
The Cardinals increased their offer to $200 million over ten years, then $220 million; however, the two unidentified teams eclipsed the initial offer. Miami Marlins offered $200 million then $225 million. Pujols then signed with one of the two anonymous teams on December 8 which had been revealed through rumors just a few days before –– the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim –– for $254 million over ten years.
After signing with the Angels, Albert Pujols' wife, Diedre Pujols, commented on a St. Louis radio show that what the Cardinals had offered was an "'insult" and that they were "confused" after being told "'we want you to be a Cardinal for life.'" Even so, Pujols' performance decline started before he became a free agent: in 2012, he finished in career lows in multiple categories, and in 2013, plantar fasciitis cut his season short. Since then, Mozeliak's decision to let Pujols walk has paid off, as with the money he saved by not signing him, he extended ace Adam Wainwright and star catcher Yadier Molina. Also, with the two Compensation Picks the St. Louis Cardinals received from the Angels, they drafted 2013 postseason hero Michael Wacha and a promising young hitter who was the Cardinals' top prospect after 2014 according to MLB.com, Stephen Piscotty.
After losing shortstop Rafael Furcal to injury in 2012, the Cardinals called up Pete Kozma to replace Furcal. Noted for his defense, Kozma had shown a poor track record in the minor leagues as a hitter, producing a .652 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) in 671 minor league games. However, during his major league call-up in 2012, he batted .333 with a .952 OPS in 82 . His skillful hitting continued in the playoffs, as he hit an RBI single in Game 5 against the Washington Nationals in the NLDS that ultimately proved to be the game and series winner, allowing the Cardinals to advance to the NLCS. Kozma became the starting shortstop the next season, but could not sustain his improved hitting in the Major Leagues, slumping to a .548 OPS. In the following World Series against the Boston Red Sox, a two-play error contributed to a Red Sox' Game 1 victory on the way to the Red Sox winning the Series.
Just two days later, they signed free agent shortstop Jhonny Peralta to a four-year, $53 million contract. The Cardinals still had yet to find consistency at shortstop since the days of RenterĂa, and Peralta was seen as a player who could bring that consistency. However, the signing drew scrutiny because he had served a 50-game suspension for his connection to the Biogenesis scandal earlier in the season.
Fellow players such as Brad Ziegler of the Arizona Diamondbacks publicly complained that the 50-game suspension was not enough of a deterrent, because it appeared to fail to prevent players who violated the collective bargaining agreement's banned substances use policy to receive compensation for their performances equal to those who had not been found to violate the policy. Mozeliak defended the contract, stating that the Cardinals were not self-appointed "morality police". He further explained that "character and makeup are something we weigh into our decision-making. In his case, he admitted what he did, he took responsibility for it. I feel like he has paid for his mistakes, and obviously if he were to make another one, then it would be a huge disappointment."
The Cardinals signed All-Star second baseman Matt Carpenter to a six-year, $52 million extension on March 6, 2014. Included was an option for 2020 worth $18.5 million. The year prior, he led the major leagues in hits, runs scored, and doubles while batting .318 and becoming a regular at a position he had yet to play as professional. Mozeliak cited his work ethic as another factor in the extension.
On April 12, 2014, the Cardinals announced they had extended Mozeliak's contract by two years through the 2018 season. They won the division this season but fell to the Giants in the NLCS.
Reports surfaced on June 16, 2015, that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) were reviewing an alleged incident involving Cardinals' front office officials Security hacker into the Houston Astros' database of players, scouting reports and proprietary statistics. It was regarded as the first known case of Corporation espionage involving computer network hacking in professional sports. The matter wasn't adjudicated until January 30, 2017 when Commissioner Rob Manfred ruled that the Cardinals forfeit its top two selections in that year's MLB Draft (numbers 56 and 75 in the second and competitive balance round B respectively) and $2 million in damages to the Astros. "MLB strips Cardinals of draft picks, fines them $2 million for Astros hack," USA Today, Monday, January 30, 2017. Retrieved August 14, 2024.
On September 19, 2015, the Cardinals became the first team in MLB to clinch a playoff spot that season. It also extended a franchise record of five consecutive seasons of reaching the postseason, a record which the club had set the previous season.
On June 30, 2017, Mozeliak was promoted to a new role that many teams were creating: president of baseball operations, while assistant GM Mike Girsch was named the new vice president and general manager of the Cardinals. These promotions came with contract guarantees for both through the 2020 season.
After a three-year absence from the postseason, the Cards won the NL Central in 2019 and defeated the Atlanta Braves in a five game NLDS. However, they went on to fall in a four game sweep to the Washington Nationals in the NLCS.
In 2020, the Cardinals would only end up playing 58 total games due to COVID-19 pandemic that had reached American shores in late January. The Cardinals were hit particularly hard by COVID, with many games being delayed and cancelled due to persistent outbreaks in the clubhouse. As a result of the shortened season, MLB expanded the playoff format for 2020 to eight teams in each league, in which the Cardinals landed themselves in as the five-seed team, finishing 2nd in the NL Central with a final record of 30–28. The Cardinals visited San Diego for a 3-game Wild Card series, where they took Game 1 but fell in Games 2 and 3 to lose the series and end their season.
In 2021 the Cardinals finished the season at 90–72, with help from a franchise-record 17-game winning streak in September to put them into the postseason. The team also was the first to have five players win Gold Glove Awards in the same season, with those being first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, second baseman Tommy Edman, third baseman Nolan Arenado, left fielder Tyler O'Neill and center fielder Harrison Bader. In the NL Wild Card Game, the Cardinals faced the 106-win Los Angeles Dodgers, where both teams battled each other for eight innings in a 1-1 ballgame before Alex Reyes surrendered a walk-off 2-run homerun to Chris Taylor, ending the Cardinals historic season. Eight days later, the Cardinals dismissed Mike Shildt, who had been manager since 2018, and elevated bench coach Oliver Marmol in his place.
In the first year of managing for Oliver Marmol, the Cardinals were guided to a 93–69 record, which was enough to win them the NL Central for the first time since 2019. Throughout the year the team had several individual successes and milestones, which most notably included Albert Pujols' 700th career homerun in a 11–0 victory vs. the Dodgers in Los Angeles on September 23. On September 14, Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina made their MLB-record 325th start as battery mates, breaking the record previously held by the Detroit Tigers pair of Mickey Lolich and Bill Freehan. First baseman Paul Goldschmidt won the NL MVP, and third baseman Nolan Arenado was a MVP finalist.
Going into the postseason as the 3-seed, the Cardinals were the favorites at home against the Philadelphia Phillies, who had made the postseason as the 6-seed as part of MLB's expanded playoff format. This was the Phillies first postseason trip since 2011. The Cardinals, however, were upset in a 2-game sweep, resulting in the third straight first round playoff exit in three years for St. Louis.
On February 13, 2023, the Cardinals signed Mozeliak to a contract extension through the 2025 season. The Cardinals experienced their only losing seasons during Mozeliak's tenure in 2023 and 2025. He stepped down from his role with the expiration of his contract, and was replaced by Chaim Bloom.
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