Sep 16, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Seattle Mariners left fielder Randy Arozarena (56) is congratulated by teammates after scoring a run in the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-Imagn Images Scott Sewell-Imagn Images

John Mozeliak Talks Polarizing Cardinals-Randy Arozarena Trade

Originally posted on St. Louis Cardinals on SI
By Patrick McAvoy | Last updated Sep 24, 2025 7:00 PM ET

The St. Louis Cardinals have gotten a lot of flak for a few trades made by the front office over the years involving outfielders.

There have been a few different times in which the Cardinals have traded an outfielder just before they broke out. One example of this is Randy Arozarena. The Cardinals signed Arozarena as an international free agent in 2016 and developed him to the big leagues. He made his big league debut in 2019 with the Cardinals and appeared in 19 games and slashed .300/.391/.500 with one homer and two RBIs.

In 2020, the Cardinals traded Arozarena to the Tampa Bay Rays along with José Martínez and a draft pick, for Matthew Liberatore, Edgardo Rodriguez, and a draft pick. In 2021, he won the American League Rookie of the Year Award and has become an All-Star-level outfielder. He's a two-time All-Star (2023 and 2025).

Over the last few years, some have given the Cardinals some grief over the deal. While this is the case, the Cardinals do have a solid rotation piece on their hands in Matthew Liberatore.

John Mozeliak talked about the Randy Arozarena deal

Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

With the season winding down, Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak talked about the deal on "The Morning After STL" and noted that the team decided between trading Tyler O'Neill or Arozarena.

"That was tough," Mozeliak said. "Really, if you think back to it, we did have a plethora of outfielders at the time. We were just trying to determine which one we could move to ultimately get a pitcher. Young starting pitcher or controlled pitcher. At the time it was Arozarena or O’Neill. Apparently we chose wrong. Like I said, mistakes happen.”

That's a fair point. O'Neill struggled offensively in 2020, but did win a Gold Glove Award. He followed up with a 6.4-WAR season in 2021 in which he had 34 home runs and 80 RBIs while finishing eighth in the NL Most Valuable Player Award voting and won his second straight Gold Glove Award. While this is the case, injuries unfortunately hurt his stint in St. Louis and then he was traded before the 2024 season.

In hindsight, it looks like the Cardinals chose wrong, as Mozeliak noted. But, with that being said, injuries are the biggest reason why that was the case. The Cardinals have gotten a lot of flak, but you can't predict injuries. The Cardinals also got Liberatore in the process. Arozarena isn't even with the Rays any longer. At this point, this deal can be put to rest.

This article first appeared on St. Louis Cardinals on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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