St. Louis' Adam Wainwright hits during MLB's Home Run Derby X at Principal Park on Aug. 30, 2025, in Des Moines. Lily Smith/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Retired Cardinals Legend Praises John Mozeliak As Team Prepares To Transition

Originally posted on St. Louis Cardinals on SI
By Curt Bishop | Last updated Sep 21, 2025 6:00 PM ET

The St. Louis Cardinals are likely to miss the postseason for a third consecutive year. They entered play on Sunday 75-80 and five games out in the National League Wild Card race. At the end of the regular season, John Mozeliak will step down as president of baseball operations and give way to Chaim Bloom. Under Bloom, they'll enter a rebuild and focus almost solely on the future.

Mozeliak has been the subject of much criticism for St. Louis fans over the years. Several of the moves he has made in recent years have not panned out, and it stands to reason why the Cardinals are where they are now.

However, franchise icon Adam Wainwright chimed in on the issue and offered praise for Mozeliak, while also calling for fans to celebrate his accomplishments.

Adam Wainwright Praises John Mozeliak Amid Cardinals Transition

Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

""If you look at, objectively, Cardinals' history, this has been one of the best runs of any era ever. We've had incredible success for the last few decades. We have been to four World Series in the last two decades, we've won a couple of World Series titles, been to numerous NLCSs, put tons of players in the All-Star Game," Wainwright said.

""I think what (John Mozeliak) should be known for is the passing on of the continued success and great legacy that the Cardinals fans and organization is known for, but also the thing that the fans crave and deserve is a great winning product. "You have to celebrate the incredible work that he and his group did accomplish here."

To be fair, Mozeliak did accomplish a lot. He was the team's scouting director when Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina were drafted. He took the Cardinals to the postseason 10 times in his 18-year career as president of baseball operations. The Cardinals won five NL Central titles, two NL pennants and a World Series title in that span.

Still, criticism is fair, and fans are simply tired of Mozeliak being the one in charge, but Wainwright does make an important point about the good things that took place during his tenure.

Wainwright was in his fourth season in the big leagues when Mozeliak took over. He was a three-time All-Star during that span.

It will be interesting to see how things change under Bloom as the offseason gets underway.

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

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