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The Cardinals will hold a press conference on Thursday afternoon where they will formally announce that general manager John Mozeliak will receive a three-year contract extension. The news wasn't expected but it doesn't come as much of a surprise either. St. Louis is not a team that has seen a lot of changes at the top of the organization in the last 25 years. Dal Maxvill served as GM from 1984-94 and Walt Jocketty served until he stepped down in 2007. Mozeliak replaced him at that point, the team has kept on winning and they clearly don't believe in fixing what hasn't been broken.
In the two years since Mozeliak took over the top job, the Cardinals have won the division once and missed the playoffs once. His highest profile moves have both involved Matt Holliday, first trading for the left fielder around this time last year and then re-signing him in the offseason.
He's had some other strong moves, although on a smaller scale than the Holliday ones. Signing Kyle Lohse as a free agent in 2008 turned out well for one season before injuries got in the way, and Brad Penny looked like a good signing this season before he fell victim to the same fate.
Mozeliak oversaw the re-signing of Joel Piniero before the 2008 season and got two good years out of the righty before letting him leave for the Angels and 2009 gambles on faded vets Julio Lugo and John Smoltz also wound up paying dividends.
Looking into the future, Mozeliak's two biggest tasks are clear. He needs to handle the negotiations with Albert Pujols on a deal that will ensure he remains a Cardinal for his entire career and he needs to begin rebuilding a farm system that's fallen into disrepair in recent years.
Mozeliak hasn't been on the job long enough to really have a profile as a drafter but the system is currently ranked 27th in baseball by FanHouse's Frankie Piliere. Much of that has to do with the trades for Holliday and Mark DeRosa last year, and Mozeliak will need to replenish the cupboard to keep the Cardinals among the top tier of teams in the major leagues.
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