St. LOUIS -- As much as he’s been hit by an avalanche of nostalgic emotions in the days leading up to his final Opening Day in his current role, retiring Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak is doing his best to not look back now -- especially with so much baseball and so many high hopes ahead of him.
However, the admittedly sentimental Mozeliak admitted to getting emotional on Thursday morning -- some 10 hours before the first pitch would take place -- when he walked along the clubhouse corridor lined with images of joyous World Series winners and legendary Hall of Fame players.
“As I was walking in here [on Thursday] morning, I was reflecting on, ‘This is my last [Opening Day],’” Mozeliak said before his Cards beat the Twins, 5-3. “It’s a special place, and as I was walking up to my office, it's something I wanted to make sure I don't ever forget. I’ve been really lucky and really fortunate to be a part of this and do a lot of things.”
To keep himself from focusing too much on what has been accomplished during his tenure as the team’s top baseball boss -- 10 playoff trips, six National League Central titles and the 2011 World Series crown -- Mozeliak has worked to affix his focus on what’s to come from a Cardinals team that little is expected of in 2025. As much as the past successes will forever be a part of Mozeliak’s legacy with the Cardinals, he hopes that what’s to come from developing youngsters Jordan Walker, Masyn Winn, Matthew Liberatore and Victor Scott II will also continue the story for years to come.
“I’d say it’s more 60/40 looking forward and I’m trying to not be reflective, but it’s hard not to when you walk that hallway that you have done forever and knowing this is probably an experience I’ll probably never have again,” said Mozeliak, who announced last October that the 2025 season will be his last in his current role.
Mozeliak is encouraged that the Cardinals can defy the relatively low expectations of the club and push for the playoffs despite him having the quietest offseason of his tenure. St. Louis signed just one player -- middle reliever Phil Maton late in training camp -- while trying to reset the roster and clean up the franchise’s financial commitments.
Starting pitcher Sonny Gray and catcher-turned-first baseman Willson Contreras were in possession of no-trade clauses but never had to invoke them after deciding to stay. As for Nolan Arenado, he suggested that playing for a championship-contending team was his preference, but the Cards were never able to fulfill that wish when the 10-time Gold Glover killed a deal to the Astros.
A team that had hoped to train its focus on the development of its young core of players is now left straddling the win-now wishes of its veterans and the playing-time needs of the youngsters.
A perfect example of the dilemma that the Cards currently face is with former first-round Draft pick Nolan Gorman, someone the club hopes to get 500-600 at-bats for this season. However, the 24-year-old slugger never got into Thursday’s opener because of the presence of Arenado, who homered late in the game. Mozeliak knows the Cardinals are in a tough spot trying to satisfy all their wishes, but he thinks it is ultimately doable.
“We’re going to have to try and find a way to balance it,” Mozeliak said. “We’ve got to try and give him that runway that we’ve talked about the last five or six months. We’ll have to see if we’re able to meet those challenges.”
A challenge the Cardinals handled deftly, Mozeliak said, was the situation with Arenado, who admitted on Wednesday that he looked at his possible departure as “like 70-30 I wasn't going to return [to the Cardinals].”
“When we all met in February, I said [to Arenado], ‘I certainly don’t know what it’s going to look like,’” Mozeliak said of the pre-Spring Training summit. “We just laid everything out, we were very transparent, and he embraced where he’s at. He wants to be a part of this club, he knows he wants to be a part of this club, so here we go.”
Here Mozeliak goes with what will be his final Cardinals team. He knows the five years of zero playoff series wins have some fans delighted that he’s leaving, and he admitted to having his fingers crossed that he wouldn’t be booed too lustily before Opening Day. Crossing the finish line at the end of the season will cause sadness, but it will also produce a measure of relief, he said.
“It was kind of sad to think about it as a final, final,” he said. “But look, it's my choice, and I can't get too sad.”