Cardinals Extend Shildt, Girsch and Mozeliak

Josh Calloni, Reporter

The Cardinals have extended the contracts of three of their higher ups, including their on field manager, general manager and president of baseball operations.

The first extension went to manager Mike Shildt. Shildt was recently named 2019 NL Manager of the Year, further establishing his extension. This solidified that Shildt will manage the Cardinals until at least 2022. Shildt took over as manager in July 2018 as an interim manager after the firing of Mike Matheny, but shook the interim tag in August of the same year. Since then, he has led the Cardinals to a 132-99 record and to their first NL Central division title since 2015. The amount of money in Shildt’s contract is not yet known. 

“Mike Shildt has done a very good job during his tenure, I think he’s a perfect extension candidate and I’m glad they did it. He is going to do a good job in the future and I hope they win him a world series because of it,” senior Tyson Clark said.

The next extension was awarded to general manager Mike Girsch. Girsch has been the Cardinals GM since 2017, but has been part of the organization in different varieties since 2006. The GM role Girsch holds today is a bit different than it was 20 years ago, as the moves usually go through the President of Baseball Operations, though the role is still one that is very valuable to an organization. During his tenure as GM, the Cardinals have never had a losing season, and have acquired big named players such as Andrew Miller and Paul Goldschmidt. 

“I think the Cardinals are doing great with these extensions. Each of the three have proven themselves to be quality MLB executives,” senior Tommy Flores said. 

The last extension given out by the Cardinals is to their President of Baseball Operations, John Mozeliak. Mozeliak has been in the organization as the leader of that department since 2007. Like Girsch, over a 12 year period, the Cardinals have never once finished below .500, and have always had winning seasons. Mozeliak has eight playoff seasons, four division championships, two NL Pennants, and one World Series title, back in 2011. The acquisition of Matt Holliday back in 2009 is just one of many moves the Cardinals have made under his time. 

Each of the three newly extended executives contracts last until 2022, and each are for an unreleased amount of money.