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New York Times
01-07-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Cardinals 2025 trade deadline preview: Buyers? Sellers? And who's running the show?
With his club exceeding expectations, John Mozeliak has an interesting predicament ahead. The St. Louis Cardinals (47-39) have played their way into National League contention. Now, the Cardinals' longtime president of baseball operations must decide which direction to take at the trade deadline. Welcome to July, Cardinals fans. Let the rumors fly. Advertisement The next 31 days could make or break the Cardinals' season. If they falter, the path for Mozeliak is clear — sell off expiring contracts and continue creating opportunity for young players. But if the Cardinals stay in the race? That's where things get complicated. With the trade deadline month underway, The Athletic has you covered on what to monitor. Here's an early look at the Cardinals' deadline. Mozeliak calls the shots here. He remains in charge of major-league decisions in his final year, and that includes the deadline. Adviser Chaim Bloom will be available to, well, advise, but it's unclear how much say he'll have — if any — come July 31. This could change if Mozeliak swings a trade that impacts 2026 and beyond. Bloom will take over after the season, meaning any contract Mozeliak lands that extends past this year will be Bloom's responsibility. It is highly unlikely Mozeliak would sign off on a trade that has significant ramifications for next season and beyond without heavy input from his successor. But the likelihood of the Cardinals agreeing to a trade of that magnitude in the first place is also unlikely. As competitive as they've been, the focus remains on the future. Mozeliak has maintained his intentions to compete this year, despite a reset season and a reduction in payroll. Credit where it's due: St. Louis has been one of baseball's most surprising success stories. This ups the ante for Mozeliak. Can he improve his club without deviating from the organization's long-term plan? Will he receive support from ownership, despite a significant decline in gate revenue and a restructured television deal? Will the pressure of pleasing a dissatisfied fan base impact decisions? Is this team capable of sustaining this level of success? These are all things the Cardinals' top exec will weigh over the next month. Advertisement Barring a collapse, it's unlikely the Cardinals will be true sellers. However, it's equally doubtful St. Louis commits to an all-in approach. The organization has an opportunity to trade away players, bolster the farm system and open up major-league opportunity for a handful of players, and improve while doing so. How does that make sense? Take a look at the Detroit Tigers. Last year, the Tigers traded several players on expiring deals, including Jack Flaherty, Andrew Chafin, Carson Kelly and Mark Canha. Detroit netted a handful of prospects and opened the door for several of its young players to play every day. By definition, the Tigers were sellers. But the Tigers took off in the second half, going 30-13 from Aug. 13 on to clinch an improbable wild-card spot. Detroit now has the best record in the American League. This is an extreme example that shows it's possible to sell and remain competitive. If the Cardinals keep up their pace, Mozeliak could mix and match where he sells and where he adds. One thing that is mostly assured: Regardless of direction, moves are expected to be incremental. Blockbuster deals aren't on the horizon for St. Louis, especially not this year. Plenty of Cardinals players will draw interest. Many will have significant value. Neither of those things means much if the Cardinals are unwilling to engage. Ryan Helsley, Steven Matz, Erick Fedde, Phil Maton and Miles Mikolas are in the final years of their contracts. If St. Louis intends to add via subtraction like Detroit, offloading impending free agents is a sensible place to start. But just because a contract bodes well for logistics doesn't mean the team will follow through. Mikolas has a full no-trade clause. It's improbable he waives it, even if the Cardinals entertain offers on him. Matz and Maton will generate considerable interest as high-leverage relievers, and the value of bullpen arms tends to peak around the deadline. But both veterans have played key roles in the Cardinals' late-inning success. If the team wants to make a second-half push, established veterans with postseason experience are what it should be targeting, not trading away. Advertisement Helsley's case is complicated. The two-time All-Star has seen his ERA jump to 3.41, nearly 1 1/2 runs above his 2.04 mark in 2024, and his fastball command has been erratic. Yet he remains one of the game's top closers — and contending teams will overpay for an elite ninth-inning arm, regardless of expiring contract status. If the Cardinals consider themselves contenders, would they trade their top reliever? If they keep him, do they risk letting him walk in free agency (something that will ultimately be a Bloom decision)? St. Louis may receive such a strong offer that it feels compelled to move Helsley. But initial internal conversations have suggested the opposite. The Cardinals may feel inclined to hold on to Helsley and decide on his future at the end of the season, and weigh the risk of losing out on a return if he walks in free agency. This situation is likely to fluctuate throughout the next few weeks. Fedde is the likeliest to be traded. Much like last season with the Chicago White Sox, Fedde (who is in the final year of a two-year, $7.5 million deal) would garner considerable interest as a low-cost, mid-rotation starter. The purpose of swapping Fedde would be to open up a rotation spot for Michael McGreevy. But if they part ways with a starter, the club risks being left unprotected if a starting pitcher lands on the injured list. The lack of major-league-ready depth in Triple A remains a concern and could give the organization pause regarding a potential Fedde trade. The Cardinals would benefit from adding one more high-leverage right-handed reliever. Kyle Leahy has done a nice job setting up Maton and Helsley, but acquiring an experienced veteran could help settle things for an inexperienced bullpen. Things are much murkier from the position player standpoint. St. Louis could target an impact bat, but that would come at the cost of playing time for at least one of its budding hitters. The Cardinals already face a logjam when they activate Jordan Walker (appendicitis) off the injured list as early as Friday. They'll be even more compacted when Iván Herrera (Grade 2 hamstring strain) comes back, potentially by the end of the month. The Cardinals find it challenging enough to find ample playing time for Alec Burleson and Nolan Gorman. Injuries changed that, and both hitters have prospered in their new everyday roles. Adding a bat would come at the expense of one player, if not both. Would acquiring a rental be worth parting with talent and also delaying development for two key players? That's another thing Mozeliak must consider among a long list of decisions before July 31. (Top photo of Ryan Helsley: Scott Kane / Getty Images)
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Red Sox's trade of Rafael Devers marks the conclusion of an untenable situation that never should've gotten to this point
The Red Sox shocked the baseball world on Sunday by trading designated hitter and third baseman Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants. The trade ends a months-long saga between the Red Sox and Devers. The timeline of Devers' tenure with the Red Sox organization goes back more than a decade to when Boston signed him as an international free agent at the age of 16. He then made his debut in 2017 at age 20, and it wasn't long before his impact was being felt in Boston. Advertisement After the trade of superstar Mookie Betts in 2020 and the departure of Xander Boegaerts in free agency in 2022, the organization looked to Devers to be the new face of the franchise. The Red Sox, led by former top executive Chaim Bloom, inked Devers to a 10-year, $313.5 million extension in December 2022, committing to him for the long-term. But all those warm and fuzzy feelings quickly evaporated this season after Boston acquired third baseman Alex Bregman in free agency and the team told Devers he would be their permanent designated hitter going forward. Devers, who isn't the best defensive third baseman by any metric, was not shy about voicing his displeasure. And it didn't end there. After first baseman Triston Casas was lost for the season after tearing his patellar tendon, the Red Sox asked Devers if he'd be willing to play first base. Having already moved once, he was less than happy about that request and ultimately told the Red Sox no. Advertisement That's how we get to Sunday. After spring training, neither side fully let things go The Red Sox's decision to trade Devers feels like an ugly breakup and the conclusion of an untenable situation that never should've become untenable. The lack of communication between the two sides ultimately doomed this marriage. When Boston told Devers in the spring that he'd only DH and would no longer play the field, the team pigeonholed itself with little room to maneuver. Had they split Devers' time between first base and DH back then, even with a healthy Casas, at the very least they would've had a better path to handle this situation. Instead, Devers felt that the team was never upfront about its intentions for him, not only this year but also going into the offseason. Looking back now, despite all the comments from the Red Sox about moving on after the spring training debacle, it's clear that neither side fully let all this go. The situation smoldered in the background, and now Devers' trade to San Francisco is the ugly ending. Advertisement The Giants' new designated hitter ultimately changed positions and, after an adjustment, has looked like the three-time All-Star he has been his entire career. But let's be clear: Devers never wanted to change positions, and he never stopped feeling that the Red Sox — specifically chief baseball officer Craig Breslow — took his position from him. Therefore, he was unwilling to listen to another request to move to first base. For Breslow and the Red Sox, it seems that they never forgot that Devers wasn't willing to change positions after the addition of Bregman, despite their conviction that it would make the team better. And they also didn't forget that Devers was unwilling to play first after Casas' season-ending knee surgery. Sources tell Yahoo Sports that Devers never made a formal request to the Red Sox to be traded. While this doesn't mean that he wasn't unhappy or frustrated, he wouldn't have been the first disgruntled superstar to play professional baseball. Instead, Boston's decision to trade Devers with the team in great position in the AL wild-card race indicates that they decided they'd be better off without him. What happens now? The timing of the trade is a head-scratcher. We're a month-and-a-half away from the trade deadline, and the Red Sox are not a team clearly looking to sell. Although they've struggled to play consistent baseball in 2025, Boston is coming off a sweep of the AL-East-leading New York Yankees. They're finally back over .500 and just a half-game back of the third AL wild card. Advertisement Trading the team's best hitter in the midst of that hardly makes sense. Devers is currently hitting .272 with 15 homers and a team-leading .905 OPS in 72 games this season. Since April 26, he has an OPS close to 1.000 with 13 home runs. Despite that, it's not hard to believe that Breslow had seen enough. He's not the executive who gave Devers the $313.5 million deal, and therefore, he had no reason to feel beholden to him or whatever promises were made to the 2018 World Series champion three years ago. There are other ramifications of this trade for the Red Sox. First, it puts significant pressure on the team's young core to perform. Boston's prospect trio of second baseman Kristian Campbell, infielder Marcelo Meyer and No. 1 prospect Roman Anthony are highly touted in the game. But none of those players has produced at the level of Devers, and while the hope for each of them is to become an All-Star-caliber player, Devers already is one. This move also gives Bregman and his agent, Scott Boras, tons of leverage this offseason. Bregman, currently on the injured list due to a right quad strain, is making $40 million in average annual value in 2025 and has an opt-out at the end of the season. If he chooses to exercise that and go elsewhere, it would put the Red Sox in an extremely precarious position, without a superstar bat in their lineup. Did both the Red Sox and Devers make mistakes over the past five months? Absolutely. Devers failed to realize the bad optics for him, especially after the Casas injury, despite his being considered a good teammate over the years. He also failed to realize that just because the Bloom regime promised him he'd stay at third, that didn't mean Breslow and Co. would have the same plan. Advertisement But did this situation have to get to this point? No. Ultimately, the Red Sox's ostracizing and alienating their best player created a rift in the relationship that could never be repaired. This move will not be easily digestible for a fan base that has already seen a superstar in Betts traded to the Dodgers, and five years later, no player included in that deal is still with the organization. The patience in Boston was already thin, and trading Devers surely will only exacerbate the issue. As the Red Sox attempt to move forward, Breslow's legacy in Boston will be judged based on what he does following this megadeal. All eyes will be on him to see if he and the Red Sox can prove that this move was the right one for the franchise's future.
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Red Sox's trade of Rafael Devers marks the conclusion of an untenable situation that never should've gotten to this point
The Red Sox shocked the baseball world on Sunday by trading designated hitter and third baseman Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants. The trade ends a months-long saga between the Red Sox and Devers. The timeline of Devers' tenure with the Red Sox organization goes back more than a decade to when Boston signed him as an international free agent at the age of 16. He then made his debut in 2017 at age 20, and it wasn't long before his impact was being felt in Boston. Advertisement After the trade of superstar Mookie Betts in 2020 and the departure of Xander Boegaerts in free agency in 2022, the organization looked to Devers to be the new face of the franchise. The Red Sox, led by former top executive Chaim Bloom, inked Devers to a 10-year, $313.5 million extension in December 2022, committing to him for the long-term. But all those warm and fuzzy feelings quickly evaporated this season after Boston acquired third baseman Alex Bregman in free agency and the team told Devers he would be their permanent designated hitter going forward. Devers, who isn't the best defensive third baseman by any metric, was not shy about voicing his displeasure. And it didn't end there. After first baseman Triston Casas was lost for the season after tearing his patellar tendon, the Red Sox asked Devers if he'd be willing to play first base. Having already moved once, he was less than happy about that request and ultimately told the Red Sox no. Advertisement That's how we get to Sunday. After spring training, neither side fully let things go The Red Sox's decision to trade Devers feels like an ugly breakup and the conclusion of an untenable situation that never should've become untenable. The lack of communication between the two sides ultimately doomed this marriage. When Boston told Devers in the spring that he'd only DH and would no longer play the field, the team pigeonholed itself with little room to maneuver. Had they split Devers' time between first base and DH back then, even with a healthy Casas, at the very least they would've had a better path to handle this situation. Instead, Devers felt that the team was never upfront about its intentions for him, not only this year but also going into the offseason. Looking back now, despite all the comments from the Red Sox about moving on after the spring training debacle, it's clear that neither side fully let all this go. The situation smoldered in the background, and now Devers' trade to San Francisco is the ugly ending. Advertisement The Giants' new designated hitter ultimately changed positions and, after an adjustment, has looked like the three-time All-Star he has been his entire career. But let's be clear: Devers never wanted to change positions, and he never stopped feeling that the Red Sox — specifically chief baseball officer Craig Breslow — took his position from him. Therefore, he was unwilling to listen to another request to move to first base. For Breslow and the Red Sox, it seems that they never forgot that Devers wasn't willing to change positions after the addition of Bregman, despite their conviction that it would make the team better. And they also didn't forget that Devers was unwilling to play first after Casas' season-ending knee surgery. Sources tell Yahoo Sports that Devers never made a formal request to the Red Sox to be traded. While this doesn't mean that he wasn't unhappy or frustrated, he wouldn't have been the first disgruntled superstar to play professional baseball. Instead, Boston's decision to trade Devers with the team in great position in the AL wild-card race indicates that they decided they'd be better off without him. What happens now? The timing of the trade is a head-scratcher. We're a month-and-a-half away from the trade deadline, and the Red Sox are not a team clearly looking to sell. Although they've struggled to play consistent baseball in 2025, Boston is coming off a sweep of the AL-East-leading New York Yankees. They're finally back over .500 and just a half-game back of the third AL wild card. Advertisement Trading the team's best hitter in the midst of that hardly makes sense. Devers is currently hitting .272 with 15 homers and a team-leading .905 OPS in 72 games this season. Since April 26, he has an OPS close to 1.000 with 13 home runs. Despite that, it's not hard to believe that Breslow had seen enough. He's not the executive who gave Devers the $313.5 million deal, and therefore, he had no reason to feel beholden to him or whatever promises were made to the 2018 World Series champion three years ago. There are other ramifications of this trade for the Red Sox. First, it puts significant pressure on the team's young core to perform. Boston's prospect trio of second baseman Kristian Campbell, infielder Marcelo Meyer and No. 1 prospect Roman Anthony are highly touted in the game. But none of those players has produced at the level of Devers, and while the hope for each of them is to become an All-Star-caliber player, Devers already is one. This move also gives Bregman and his agent, Scott Boras, tons of leverage this offseason. Bregman, currently on the injured list due to a right quad strain, is making $40 million in average annual value in 2025 and has an opt-out at the end of the season. If he chooses to exercise that opt out and go elsewhere, it would put the Red Sox in an extremely precarious position, without a superstar bat in their lineup. Did both the Red Sox and Devers make mistakes over the past five months? Absolutely. For Devers, he failed to realize the bad optics for him, especially after the Casas injury, despite his being considered a good teammate over the years. He also failed to realize that just because the Bloom regime promised him he'd stay at third, that didn't mean that Breslow and Co. wouldn't have different feelings. Advertisement But did this situation have to get to this point? No. Ultimately, the Red Sox's ostracizing and alienating their best player created a rift in the relationship that could never be repaired. This move will not be easily digestible for a fan base that has already seen a superstar in Betts traded to the Dodgers, and five years later, no player included in that deal is still with the organization. The patience in Boston was already thin, and trading Devers surely will only exacerbate the issue. As the Red Sox attempt to move forward, Breslow's legacy in Boston will be judged based on what he does following this megadeal. All eyes will be on him to see if he and the Red Sox can prove that this move was the right one for the franchise's future.
New York Times
04-03-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
What's the Cardinals' direction this year? Spring training mailbag, Part 1
We're halfway through spring training yet we are not all that closer to figuring out what the St. Louis Cardinals will look like in 2025. Some of that is by design. Grapefruit League play spans more than a month for a reason. Organizations need time to figure out their rosters. But in the Cardinals' case, the roster is looking pretty similar to 2024. And after promising a reset period in October, that's a problem — or at least that's what the participants in this mailbag are saying. Advertisement In the first installment of a two-part spring training mailbag, we discuss the changes in the Cardinals' transition plans. Topics range from Chaim Bloom's involvement, player development updates and why the Cardinals seem to be stuck in the middle between competing and rebuilding. (Note: Submitted questions have been edited for clarity and length.) What is this team's strategy exactly? Last fall they announced that they were 'planning for the future,' but nothing about their offseason actions furthered this strategy. Trading Nolan Arenado would have been a step in that direction, but not trading other vets would still have been a half-measure. This team is perpetually stuck in the middle. — CG H. You won't hear me disagreeing with any of your above points. The fact that the Cardinals seem to be hovering above middle ground — even after their self-proclaimed reset plans — has befuddled countless executives throughout the industry. The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal touched on this topic in a column last week and explained why the Cardinals did not rebuild as heavily as they could, and why it appears they have essentially backtracked on their previous plans. What is the Cardinals' 2025 strategy you ask? It's to win as many games as possible while extending as much opportunity as possible to as many young players as possible. (Yeah, say that three times fast.) I'm on the record multiple times saying I understand why the Cardinals chose this plan. But I also think (given how the offseason and spring have transpired) that it's fair to question if this strategy is still feasible. This year's projected roster sure looks a lot like last year's. Yes, St. Louis lost four pivotal members of last season's 83-79 club: Paul Goldschmidt, Kyle Gibson, Lance Lynn and Andrew Kittredge. But a majority of the questions about this year's squad remain the same, especially when it comes to playing time, position redundancy and players' future potential. Advertisement No, the Cardinals did not trade any veterans. They certainly tried to trade Arenado, to no avail. Willson Contreras and Sonny Gray preferred not to exercise their no-trade clauses, which is their earned right. Could that have persuaded John Mozeliak to keep other assets, such as Ryan Helsley and Erick Fedde (who were both high-profile trade candidates), thus impacting the degree of the reset? It's entirely possible. The defining questions for the Cardinals this season: Will they commit to their stated intentions to give runway to key young players? And just how much runway exists? Are Chaim Bloom and John Mozeliak on the same page regarding this middle-of-the-road, half-measured 'reset'? What does Bloom want and when does he start directing major-league roster moves? — News The two executives worked together throughout the winter to bolster up the organization's very under-staffed player development system (more on this below). This was one of, if not the most, important reason Bloom was hired in the first place. The Cardinals knew their minor-league system was vastly outdated, and Bloom's extensive résumé made him the ideal candidate to begin modernizing it. Bloom won't take over as president of baseball operations until after the 2025 season. It's Mozeliak's show until then. While he'll consult with Bloom when he feels necessary, Mozeliak will be the one in charge of roster decisions, trades and signings and potentially even playing time. (In years prior, Mozeliak preferred his manager to have full autonomy with the every day lineup. This season, with the club trying to guarantee consistent playing time to select players, that strategy could change.) It's hard to say what Bloom wants, though you can draw some conclusions as to how he'll operate from his tenure in Boston (keep in mind, ownership ultimately has the final say). What he has proven already in St. Louis: He's serious about improving player development. Already, the results are dramatic. Advertisement You've written extensively about the Cardinals' renewed focus on their minor-league development system. Can you point readers to any concrete changes that newly hired assistant general manager Rob Cerfolio and adviser Chaim Bloom have implemented? Assuming investment in the development system has increased, is that money being spent on staff, technology, or infrastructure (lab build-outs, etc.) or all of the above? — Jay O. Eventually, investments will span all three of those areas. Currently, the area that has expanded the most is staffing (and if you missed it, here's why expanding that department took precedent over everything else). Let's take a look at last year's player development staff and compare it to where the Cardinals are now. Before the 2024 season, St. Louis had five full-time minor-league on-field coordinators — the lowest number in the majors. Under instructing coordinator José Oquendo, the Cardinals had two hitting coordinators, Russ Steinhorn and Brock Hammit, a senior pitching coordinator, Tim Leveque, and a pitching coordinator assigned to the spring training complex, Rick Harig. The issue wasn't the coordinators they had, however. It was the ones they didn't. For years, the Cardinals did not have a catching, infield, outfield or base-running coordinator. They also lacked a minor-league nutritionist and did not staff a single roving coordinator. These are positions considered instrumental by almost every other organization in the league. When Bloom took over minor-league responsibilities, increasing staffing took utmost priority. After hiring Cerfolio, the two hired three new directors: Larry Day (director of player development), Carl Kochan (director of player performance) and Matt Pierpont (director of pitching). Later in the winter, the Cardinals announced a slew of new coordinator positions, including four new hires and several reassignments. The new hires included a field coordinator (Ryan Barba) and a catching coordinator (Ethan Goforth). Austin Meine replaced Leveque as pitching coordinator, with Leveque transitioning to a pitching analyst role. Oquendo was named fundamentals coordinator, while former Double-A manager Jose Leger took over as assistant field coordinator and baserunning coordinator. Former Cardinal Bernard Gilkey will be a roving coach. Bloom and Cerfolio plan to continue expanding staffing over the next several months. The Cardinals' spring training complex will also undergo a two-year renovation period, which is set to begin shortly after the end of spring training this year. The Cardinals' player development was severely behind the rest of the industry, something chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. admitted in January. It will take time for the organization to catch up. But the groundwork — and the people responsible for turning it around — has been established Advertisement The Cardinals said they wanted to evaluate their young talent. But how many new, different players have a real chance of even making the 26-man roster? — Ed P. That's a fair question and one the organization is struggling to answer. Three more weeks of spring training should help, at least to an extent. But the starting rotation looks full, the corner infield is established and playing time has already been promised to several other players. As currently projected, the Cardinals will have maybe one open bench spot (if Lars Nootbaar, Michael Siani and Victor Scott II all make the Opening Day roster — which is no guarantee). That bench spot could be used for a right-handed bench bat, like Luken Baker. But that would leave the Cardinals without a true backup shortstop. Brendan Donovan could fill in when needed, sure. But a player like Michael Helman, Jose Barrero or José Fermín could take priority here, which would leave no room for Thomas Saggese. The area best suited for new faces (and perhaps the only one) is the bullpen. Helsley, JoJo Romero and Ryan Fernandez should resume last year's roles. Matthew Liberatore likely will too, though that will ultimately depend on whether St. Louis thinks it needs more starting rotation depth. At least four relief spots will be open for taking. Gordon Graceffo is an early favorite to crack the Opening Day roster. Non-roster invite Nick Anderson has a chance as well. The long answer to your question: There is opportunity for young players, but not to the extent the Cardinals first advertised. It's been the theme of the spring so far. It's up to the Cardinals to make sure it doesn't become the theme of their season. (Top photo of Nolan Arenado taking infield practice at spring training: Jim Rassol / Imagn Images)
