Despite coaching changes, the Cards are hopeful about Arenado

 

Former Cardinal Holliday is considered for a coaching position, and Mozeliak anticipates higher payroll.

 

Cardinals president John Mozeliak expressed his hope that the organization wouldn’t experience a similar level of turnover at third base about superstar Nolan Arenado on Wednesday while announcing a number of upcoming changes to the coaching staff for the 2023 Cardinals.

 

Arenado, who for the seventh time in his career hit at least 30 home runs and drove in at least 100 runs, has until 5 days after the end of the World Series to determine whether he will stay with the Cardinals or decide to option out of his contract and become a free agent. To ascertain Arenado’s position on his future with St. Louis, Mozeliak claimed he met with him on Monday in Southern California.

 

Arenado, who is running for a likely 10th straight Gold Glove Award, reportedly wanted to know about the team’s plans to raise its budget for 2023. And possibly add more offensive firepower to better protect third baseman and fellow MVP contender Paul Goldschmidt in the lineup.

 

I want to say that I’m hopeful that this will have a happy ending, and as I said, I hope we hear some news on that sooner rather than later, said Mozeliak. “I don’t believe the arrangement has to be reworked. He’s merely attempting to take advantage of his free time by organizing some stuff.

 

I’m hopeful we can reach a place where we’re both delighted and have that understanding. He needs some time to reflect on that. He asked questions on how we’re thinking about the club, what we’re thinking about in the future, and topics like, “How are we going to deploy our resources?” It was a very positive conversation.

 

 

Following the announcement of bench coach Skip Schumaker as the Marlins’ new manager on Tuesday, Mozeliak disclosed that hitting coach Jeff Albert, veteran pitching coach Mike Maddux, and bullpen coach Bryan Eversgerd will not be back in 2023. Additionally, Eversgerd will be given a new position within the organization.

 

Although Mozeliak was ready to extend contracts to Albert and Maddux through the 2023 season and beyond, both players decided to go. Mozeliak claimed that Albert gave as his justification for wanting to move on the blame he received on social media for some of the Cardinals’ hitting problems, first early in the season and again in a two-game playoff loss to the Phillies in the NL Wild Card Series.

 

Although Mozeliak was ready to extend contracts to Albert and Maddux through the 2023 season and beyond, both players decided to go. Mozeliak claimed that Albert gave as his justification for wanting to move on the blame he received on social media for some of the Cardinals’ hitting problems, first early in the season and again in a two-game playoff loss to the Phillies in the NL Wild Card Series.

 

According to Mozeliak, both Maddux and Albert have unique stories of their own. In [Maddux’s] situation, he has simply been doing it for a long time and is seeking a change of pace. I believe there were some frustration levels in Jeff’s specific situation, and he accepted much of the blame when things went wrong.

 

Holliday, who played for St. Louis from 2009 to 2016, stated months ago that if the appropriate opportunity presented itself, he would consider accepting a job offer as a Major League coach. He presently serves as Oklahoma State University’s outfield and hitting coach. He is credited with assisting former Cardinal Matt Carpenter in having a power renaissance season with the Yankees before suffering a season-altering foot injury.

 

Superstar hitter Albert Pujols, who hit 18 second-half home runs to reach 703 for his career, is out from the lineup after retiring. Mozeliak said the team is working to establish plans on how it would approach the free agency to “augment the offensive.” Yadier Molina is also a catcher, and for the first time in more than two decades, the team will be looking for one.

 

According to Mozeliak, the Cardinals will have a higher payroll for ’23 after the team attracted 3.3 million spectators in 2022, which was second in MLB only to the Dodgers’ 3.6 million. According to Spotrac, the Cards had the 12th-highest payroll in MLB this season at $170 million. The team, however, finished sixth in the National League, far behind dominant groups like the Mets ($282 million), Dodgers ($275 million), Phillies ($255 million), Padres ($237 million), and Braves ($200 million).

 

In the opening round of the postseason, Phillies defeated the Cardinals before defeating the 101-win Braves and the Padres. The Phillies just added free-agent sluggers Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber. After making audacious trades at the Trade Deadline to acquire Juan Soto, Josh Hader, Josh Bell, and Brandon Drury, San Diego defeated New York and Los Angeles, both of which had more than 100 victories during the regular season.

 

“The good news is we expect our payroll to go up next season — I know it will — because we had a lot of success at the box office this year. And I want to thank our fans for that,” said Mozeliak, who consistently emphasized the rise of prospects like outfielder Jordan Walker, shortstop Masyn Winn, and pitcher Gordon Graceffo playing into any free-agent plans the Cards make this offseason. “When you get through the epidemic and reach where we are now, we’re one of the only clubs whose attendance levels have come close to those before the outbreak. I am therefore confident that our payroll will increase.

 

“You must design a roster to [fight] that because it’s a lengthy season,” he continued. “We are aware of our abilities and capabilities, but we still intend to operate as a pipeline-driven company and strive to draft well. We believe we can maintain the success we’ve achieved if we keep doing those things.

 

Despite coaching changes, the Cards are hopeful about Arenado

 

Former Cardinal Holliday is considered for a coaching position, and Mozeliak anticipates higher payroll.

 

Cardinals president John Mozeliak expressed his hope that the organization wouldn’t experience a similar level of turnover at third base about superstar Nolan Arenado on Wednesday while announcing a number of upcoming changes to the coaching staff for the 2023 Cardinals.

 

Arenado, who for the seventh time in his career hit at least 30 home runs and drove in at least 100 runs, has until 5 days after the end of the World Series to determine whether he will stay with the Cardinals or decide to option out of his contract and become a free agent. To ascertain Arenado’s position on his future with St. Louis, Mozeliak claimed he met with him on Monday in Southern California.

 

Arenado, who is running for a likely 10th straight Gold Glove Award, reportedly wanted to know about the team’s plans to raise its budget for 2023. And possibly add more offensive firepower to better protect third baseman and fellow MVP contender Paul Goldschmidt in the lineup.

 

I want to say that I’m hopeful that this will have a happy ending, and as I said, I hope we hear some news on that sooner rather than later, said Mozeliak. “I don’t believe the arrangement has to be reworked. He’s merely attempting to take advantage of his free time by organizing some stuff.

 

I’m hopeful we can reach a place where we’re both delighted and have that understanding. He needs some time to reflect on that. He asked questions on how we’re thinking about the club, what we’re thinking about in the future, and topics like, “How are we going to deploy our resources?” It was a very positive conversation.

 

 

Following the announcement of bench coach Skip Schumaker as the Marlins’ new manager on Tuesday, Mozeliak disclosed that hitting coach Jeff Albert, veteran pitching coach Mike Maddux, and bullpen coach Bryan Eversgerd will not be back in 2023. Additionally, Eversgerd will be given a new position within the organization.

 

Although Mozeliak was ready to extend contracts to Albert and Maddux through the 2023 season and beyond, both players decided to go. Mozeliak claimed that Albert gave as his justification for wanting to move on the blame he received on social media for some of the Cardinals’ hitting problems, first early in the season and again in a two-game playoff loss to the Phillies in the NL Wild Card Series.

 

Although Mozeliak was ready to extend contracts to Albert and Maddux through the 2023 season and beyond, both players decided to go. Mozeliak claimed that Albert gave as his justification for wanting to move on the blame he received on social media for some of the Cardinals’ hitting problems, first early in the season and again in a two-game playoff loss to the Phillies in the NL Wild Card Series.

 

According to Mozeliak, both Maddux and Albert have unique stories of their own. In [Maddux’s] situation, he has simply been doing it for a long time and is seeking a change of pace. I believe there were some frustration levels in Jeff’s specific situation, and he accepted much of the blame when things went wrong.

 

Holliday, who played for St. Louis from 2009 to 2016, stated months ago that if the appropriate opportunity presented itself, he would consider accepting a job offer as a Major League coach. He presently serves as Oklahoma State University’s outfield and hitting coach. He is credited with assisting former Cardinal Matt Carpenter in having a power renaissance season with the Yankees before suffering a season-altering foot injury.

 

Superstar hitter Albert Pujols, who hit 18 second-half home runs to reach 703 for his career, is out from the lineup after retiring. Mozeliak said the team is working to establish plans on how it would approach the free agency to “augment the offensive.” Yadier Molina is also a catcher, and for the first time in more than two decades, the team will be looking for one.

 

According to Mozeliak, the Cardinals will have a higher payroll for ’23 after the team attracted 3.3 million spectators in 2022, which was second in MLB only to the Dodgers’ 3.6 million. According to Spotrac, the Cards had the 12th-highest payroll in MLB this season at $170 million. The team, however, finished sixth in the National League, far behind dominant groups like the Mets ($282 million), Dodgers ($275 million), Phillies ($255 million), Padres ($237 million), and Braves ($200 million).

 

In the opening round of the postseason, Phillies defeated the Cardinals before defeating the 101-win Braves and the Padres. The Phillies just added free-agent sluggers Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber. After making audacious trades at the Trade Deadline to acquire Juan Soto, Josh Hader, Josh Bell, and Brandon Drury, San Diego defeated New York and Los Angeles, both of which had more than 100 victories during the regular season.

 

“The good news is we expect our payroll to go up next season — I know it will — because we had a lot of success at the box office this year. And I want to thank our fans for that,” said Mozeliak, who consistently emphasized the rise of prospects like outfielder Jordan Walker, shortstop Masyn Winn, and pitcher Gordon Graceffo playing into any free-agent plans the Cards make this offseason. “When you get through the epidemic and reach where we are now, we’re one of the only clubs whose attendance levels have come close to those before the outbreak. I am therefore confident that our payroll will increase.

 

“You must design a roster to [fight] that because it’s a lengthy season,” he continued. “We are aware of our abilities and capabilities, but we still intend to operate as a pipeline-driven company and strive to draft well. We believe we can maintain the success we’ve achieved if we keep doing those things.