John Mozeliak’s leadership with the Cardinals has been coming Worst In….

The end of John Mozeliak’s leadership with the Cardinals has been coming for awhile, but a second consecutive losing season may accelerate the timeline.

The St. Louis Cardinals are reaching the end of an era when it comes to the leadership of John Mozeliak. If things continue to trend in the wrong direction in 2024, that timeline could be here in a matter of weeks or months. If not, Mozeliak has been pretty clear that he is preparing to be done running baseball operations for the Cardinals when his contract is up after the 2025 season.

I do not believe that ownership would fire Mozeliak, but his recent comments reconfirm my belief that Mozeliak will step down from his role sooner rather than later if the Cardinals become sellers again.

Let’s take a look at ten different candidates the Cardinals could explore to succeed Mozeliak if his time as President of Baseball Operations comes to an end soon.

Chaim Bloom
The most obvious fit to take over as the club’s next President of Baseball Operations (or however they decide to structure the front office post-Mozeliak), Chaim Bloom was brought in as an advisor to Mozeliak this offseason, and it feels like the worst kept secret that they’d love to have him take over when Mozeliak is done.

Bloom rose to prominence throughout the game of baseball due to his heavy influence in shaping the Rays’ player development system. He was then hired to oversee baseball operations in Boston but was let go at the end of the 2023 season after a string of tough years.

Bloom was dealt a rough hand at the beginning of his Red Sox tenure, being tasked with trading Mookie Betts and attaching David Price’s horrible deal to it. Bloom get the Red Sox to the ALCS during his tenure, and he created a lot of stability in the organization. Their pitching this year has been stellar thanks to many arms brought in and developed during Bloom’s run, and they also boast one of the best farm systems in baseball.

I would be shocked if Bloom was not the heir to Mozeliak unless Bloom decided the role wasn’t for him.

The St. Louis Cardinals’ season has been nothing short of a disaster so far, but a veteran presence at the top of the line-up has seemed to ignite the offense.

Carpenter is at Home at Top of the Lineup
Matt Carpenter has been one of the best Cardinals’ lead-off hitters ever. No, he doesn’t have the speed of a Lou Brock or Vince Coleman, but that’s not his game. His has always been getting on base, which is the most important job of a lead-off man. There have been 23 players to log 1,000 plate appearances in the lead-off position for St. Louis. Carpenter ranks in the top three in nearly every important offensive category.