Cardinals’ disappointing 2023 season can and must be turned around in 2024; is John Mozeliak up for the task?

That brings us to the front office helmed by president of baseball operations John Mozeliak. There’s no assailing his broader record of success as the Cardinals’ lead operator. First as general manager and then in his current role, Mozeliak has guided the Cardinals since the fall of 2007, and they’ve enjoyed a tremendous level of success during his tenure - 10 playoff appearances and a World Series title in 2011. One lost season doesn’t meaningfully tarnish those prior achievements, especially in light of the Cardinals’ market size and (somewhat self-inflicted) payroll limitations, but it does raise questions about the future. That’s especially the case since Mozeliak failed to address the rotation last offseason, and that flawed rotation was the prime mover in the Cardinals’ 2023 failures.

It’s hard to imagine that team owner Bill DeWitt Jr. is pondering a change at the top of baseball ops based on the current season, but Mozeliak has some things to prove in the coming winter. The Cardinals, according to Mozeliak’s own words, are committed to adding multiple starting pitchers to the rotation (presumably at the front end), which amounts to an opportunity to correct the mistakes of the 2022-23 offseason. Whether he does so via free agency or trade or some combination thereof, there’s a great deal of pressure for these additions to succeed and drive a return to relevance in 2024. If that doesn’t come to pass, then change may be afoot.