ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The St. Louis Cardinals sell-off officially began Sunday afternoon during the middle of the team's series finale against the Chicago Cubs, with the team trading away the likes of starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery and relief pitchers Jordan Hicks and Chris Stratton for four prospects and relief pitcher John King.
Hours before the selloff officially commenced, Cardinals President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak joined KMOX Sports Director Tom Ackerman on 'Sports On A Sunday Morning' for his weekly chat with Ackerman and discussed the team's trade strategy.
In the interview, Mozeliak didn't want to discuss specifics when it came to subjects like contract negotiations with Hicks, but he did discussed the team's deadline strategy of acquiring more pitching depth as the main obvious need.
"We needed to add pitching depth," said Mozeliak, "It's not uncommon to be on a phone with a opposing team saying 'Pitching Pitching Pitching.' We do like out core position players, and the depth we have there but we know we need to strengthen out pitching."
Mozeliak also discussed the reports that the Cardinals and Dodgers discussed a deal regarding Nolan Arenado, and while he refused to discussed the details of the talks, he did discuss his decision on not completely outright saying Arenado is not being traded until Saturday night, despite hinting that Arenado was likely staying in previous statements."
"If I have to address every rumor every time, I have no strategy nor plan," Mozeliak said, "I can't control what people write or say, but if I have to react to react to every rumor out there, I don't think I be using my time wisely."
Mozeliak said he finally decided to release a statement Saturday night to clear the air and dispel any rumors regarding the situation of both Arenado and Goldschmidt.
"I was accused of not being available despite no one asking me anyway," Mozeliak said, "We never had any intention of trying to move any of our key players we have under control."
The Cardinals Trade Deadline is not officially over yet, with players like Jack Flaherty, Paul DeJong and Dylan Carlson still the subjects of multiple deals. The MLB Trade Deadline ends on Tuesday, Aug. 1 at 5 p.m. central time.
