Q&A: John Mozeliak

One of the perks of being a member of the United Cardinal Bloggers is access to the team. Besides the annual Blogger Event at Busch Stadium, John Mozeliak makes himself available to answer some of our questions. We submit as many questions as we like, but he only typically addresses 1-2 per person. Here are the responses to my questions.

Nyrdcast: Who is a lesser known prospect that we should be watching for?

John Mozeliak: One player I think is on the verge of becoming a larger name is Ivan Herrera. To be able to do what he did at a demanding defensive position and carry himself offensively at the Florida State League, and at his age, was very impressive.

Nyrdcast: Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina have been the heart and soul of the Cardinals for a decade and a half. How do you weigh the “life-time Cardinal” tag vs blocking potential replacements with Molina and Adam Wainwright?

JM: When you look at what Yadi and Waino have meant to this organization, they know as well as anybody that this has been an incredible ride. In terms of having them “block future talent”, it’s not even something we internally discuss because both guys are still contributing at a high level. I think those two would be the first ones to say “if I can’t to it any longer, then please allow me to walk away”. Obviously they’re not going to play forever and there’s going to have to be a time where we think about what life is like without them, but fortunately for 2020 we don’t have to.

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I liked the answers, considering Mo doesn’t typically go into details about specific players. Then I looked back at what I originally asked; here are my original questions…

Which type of player does the organization typically prefer? A .240 hitter with a .380 OBP or a .310 hitter with a .350 OBP?

With the Astros facing a penalty for stealing the catcher’s signs with technology, has the organization (and/or MLB) talked with Jeff Albert about what happened? If Albert were in on the potential violation, would the team consider taking action against him?

There was some criticism around giving Matt Carpenter an extension this past off-season when he was still under contract. With Yadier Molina expressing the desire to continue playing after 2020, is the team a little hesitant of offer an extension to a declining player? How do you weigh the “life-time Cardinal” tag vs blocking potential replacements with Molina and Adam Wainwright?

Who is a lesser known prospect that we should be watching for?

I didn’t expect a response on the Astros thing as MLB has placed a gag order on other franchises talking about it. The question about the 2 types of hitters was just something I had read about recently and was curious. What I really noticed was the Carpenter part of my 3rd question was left out and someone added the part of Waino and Yadi as the heart and soul of the team (which I completely agree with). I find it interesting.

As other bloggers release their questions, I’ll add the links below:

C70 at the Bat
RetroSimba
Women Who Love Cardinal Baseball