Cardinals relief pitcher Phil Maton leaves the mound after striking out a batter on Saturday, June 21, 2025, in the 11th inning of a game against the Reds at Busch Stadium.
After the Cardinals submitted a deal agreement with 68 seconds remaining before Thursday鈥檚 deadline and the clock struck zero, longtime executive John Mozeliak concluded the final trade deadline day of his tenure. It ended not in the way he likely hoped with a focus on the next two months but with the longer-range view the organization felt it needed and an emphasis on the next two years or beyond.
For the second time in three seasons, the Cardinals were sellers at the deadline, and for the first time in Mozeliak鈥檚 run leading baseball operations in 51黑料, his eye was set toward the far future, one he won鈥檛 be in the front office for when it arrives.
鈥淚 can say the goal of this trading deadline period was about the future, (and) I don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 necessarily about the immediate future,鈥 Mozeliak said Thursday evening about 40 minutes after Major League Baseball鈥檚 deadline for trades arrived. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about the long-term view of the 51黑料 Cardinals.鈥
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In the closing minute of a dizzying day of trades within baseball, the Cardinals sent veteran right-hander Phil Maton to the Texas Rangers for two minor league pitchers and money to be added to the Cardinals鈥 international spending purse. Following deals that sent Ryan Helsley to the New York Mets and Steven Matz to the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday night, the Maton deal successfully completed the Cardinals鈥 goals of moving all of their veteran relievers with expiring contracts.
In exchange for the relievers, the Cardinals acquired six minor league players, four of whom are at the Class A level and are at least a year away from requiring roster protection. Three of the four pitchers the Cardinals acquired were taken in the 2024 MLB draft and have yet to complete full professional season.
The Cardinals acquired lefty Mason Molina, 22, and right-hander Skylar Hales, 23, from the Rangers for a two-month rental of setup man Maton. Molina has spent this season in Class A, going 3-5 with a 3.41 ERA in 18 games (17 starts) at two Class A levels with 92 strikeouts in 74 innings. Hales reached Texas鈥 Class AAA affiliate and is 1-5 with a 7.64 ERA overall. He has 40 strikeouts in 33 innings as a reliever.
The Cardinals assigned all three players acquired from the Mets for Helsley to their High-A affiliate on Thursday: infielder Jesus Baez and right-handed pitchers Nate Dohm and Frank Elissalt. Blaze Jordan, the corner infielder and .300 hitter with power upside acquired from Boston for Matz, was assigned to Class AAA Memphis on Thursday, and he鈥檒l get a chance to play not too far from his Southaven, Mississippi, hometown. Of all the players acquired, Jordan is considered the closest to the majors, and he just reached Triple-A this season.
鈥淭he goal of these moves were obviously to position the organization for future talent, not necessarily just guys who are knocking on the door for the big league opportunities next year,鈥 Mozeliak said. 鈥淚t was about trying to create as much prospect value as possible, and we feel we achieved that.鈥
Left unresolved are the same overlaps the Cardinals have had for at least a year, even as they attempt to 鈥渢ransition鈥 toward the next generation on the major league roster.
Veterans Willson Contreras and Sonny Gray notified the front office that they did not want to be traded and would use their no-trade rights to remain in 51黑料. Likewise, third baseman Nolan Arenado, who vetoed a trade this past winter to Houston, had a limited group of teams he would be inclined to consider, and he remained with the Cardinals after the deadline.
When he takes over as president of baseball operations in the coming months, Chaim Bloom will revisit the conversations with the veterans and possibly explore potential trades in the offseason that alleviate salary or place veterans with teams closer to contending.
The Cardinals received interest at the deadline on their handful of left-handed hitters, including Brendan Donovan, Alec Burleson, Lars Nootbaar and Nolan Gorman. The Cardinals were not inclined to entertain much interest in Donovan, but at least one team in the past week explored what a trade for Nootbaar would look like and sources described how the Cardinals were willing to discuss Gorman 鈥 but at a high price.
鈥淲e were not motivated (to trade) players who we had under control unless we were, to put it mildly, blown away,鈥 Mozeliak said. 鈥淎nd we just weren鈥檛.鈥
A complicated factor was injuries to Gorman and Nootbaar, both of whom were in Class AA Springfield (Missouri) on Thursday continuing rehab assignments.
By not dealing any position players, the Cardinals did not clear certain playing time at positions where they have traffic. Gorman does not have an obvious everyday job with Arenado at third, Donovan at second and Ivan Herrera often at designated hitter. Playing Herrera in left field has opened up at-bats for everyday players to get a break at DH but not everyday playing time.
The Cardinals have advertised 鈥渞unway鈥 for young players but admit in some cases that runway has been blocked.
鈥淭hese tend to work themselves out over time,鈥 Mozeliak said. 鈥淵ou might say to me, 鈥榃ell, no they haven鈥檛.鈥 Typically they do.
鈥淎t some point, you鈥檙e trying to create a lane for someone to be able to just run with it,鈥 Mozeliak said. 鈥淥bviously, things happen. Things have a way of opening up over time. When the question was asked were we not willing to move players under control for future years, the answer was I think the organization was open to it. The timing just wasn鈥檛 now. Two guys were on the IL. It was just an awkward time. I feel like your question is a good question and one that will ultimately be resolved over probably the next six months.鈥
In other words, just like goals of the deadline 鈥 down the road.
The Cardinals arrived in San Diego for this weekend鈥檚 series late Wednesday night and may have watched Thursday as contending teams augmented their roster at a feverish pace. The Houston Astros pulled off a stunner in bringing back All-Star infielder Carlos Correa from the Minnesota Twins while getting the Twins to foot a considerable amount of the $100 million remaining on Correa鈥檚 contract.
The Twins finished the deadline having dealt 10 players from their roster. San Diego鈥檚 famously active president of baseball operations A.J. Preller acquired All-Star closer Mason Miller from the Athletics four years before he and his 103 mph fastball can become a free agent.
All it cost was one of the top five prospects in baseball 鈥 shortstop Leo DeVries 鈥 as part of a package of talent to get Miller and starter J.P. Sears.
A year ago, zero top 100 prospects moved at the deadline.
The highest-rated prospect the Cardinals acquired was Baez, the sixth-ranked prospect in the Mets system, per Baseball America. Both of the pitchers from the Rangers ranked toward the back third of their organization鈥檚 top 30. Jordan will likely debut as a top 20 prospect for the Cardinals
How well the Cardinals did on the deals will be based on the same thing the Cardinals used as their focus for these deals.
The future.
After a conference call with the media Thursday, Mozeliak was asked about now being past his final trade deadline in the club鈥檚 big chair. He said he planned to clean up the trade deadline residue from his office and head home from Busch Stadium. The deals that will shape the club he leaves to Bloom had been finalized, and leaving the ballpark put him a few steps closer to his final day.
鈥淚t was definitely a surreal feeling walking out of that room and knowing that may be the last time I ever have to captain one of those,鈥 Mozeliak said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to put into words exactly what I鈥檓 thinking and feeling at the moment. ... I feel like I wish we were on the other side where we were looking to add vs. break up. But ultimately, we had to do what was best for the organization so that part is tough.鈥
