Who is the Next Angels GM? Three Cardinals Options

With John Mozeliak leading the search, will he hire from his own tree? A look at three St. Louis Cardinals assistant GMs who could be the next Angels GM.

Jul 30, 2023; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak talks with the media after the Cardinals traded relief pitcher Jordan Hicks (not pictured) starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery (not pictured) and relief pitcher Chris Stratton (not pictured) at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Angels interim general manager John Mozeliak brings three decades of experience from the St. Louis Cardinals organization including his final 18 years as head of baseball operations. He stepped aside after the 2025 season but left behind a front office full of assistants who are now helping run the Cardinals organization.

In looking at the organizational structure of the Cardinals and the talent Mozeliak knows from that organization it is natural to think the Angels next front office could feature some of the current Cardinals administration. If that is going to be the case, three candidates for the Angels GM job are obviousl.

Randy Flores was Mozeliak's draft and personnel guru.

Mozeliak made a bold move when he hired Flores away from a broadcasting career and installed him as Scouting Director in 2015. For the most part, that hire has worked out well for the Cardinals and given his track record Flores has to be a considered a strong candidate to become the next GM in Anaheim.

First round picks J.J. Wetherholt, Jordan Walker, and Nolan Gorman have all panned out quite well. Hitting on first round picks is critical to building a consistent winner and for the most part Flores has hit on his.

Getting quality MLB players deeper in the draft is the real key to getting over the top. Masyn Winn was selected in the second round of the 2020 draft and is now the Cardinals starting shortstop. Comparatively, Kyren Paris (2019) and Ryan Johnson (2024) are the only two second round picks of the Angels who have made the jump to MLB in recent years and neither has had much success.

Randy Flores has also picked quality players in later rounds of the draft. He led an excellent 2018 draft in which he picked up Brendan Donovan and Lars Nootbar in the 7th and 8th rounds, respectively. In 2016 he selected Tommy Edman in the 6th round.

Every scouting director is going to have some misses along the way. But overall, the Cardinals have drafted far better under Flores than the Angels have under multiple general managers.

In addition to his responsibilities in the draft, Flores also directly assisted in 40 man roster construction and player contracts. He also headed the division that includes the international scouting data.

Jun 28, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn (0) throws to first for the out on Miami Marlins center fielder Jakob Marsee (not shown) after he hit a grounder up the middle in the eighth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Vizer-Imagn Images | Tim Vizer-Imagn Images

Moises Rodriguez brought in the international talent.

Rodriguez has the longest history with Mozeliak. He was brought on board in 2007 when Mozeliak became the GM of the Cardinals and has extensive experience in international scouting and general baseball operations.

Over time, Rodriguez took on the ultimate responsibility for the draft and headed a division of player acquisition. In the latter capacity he was tasked with scouting talent in other organizations. Rodriguez is a solid candidate for the Angels GM.

In addition to knowing the way Mozeliak wants to set up operations with the Angels, Rodriguez has a good track record signing international talent. Rodriguez signed young right hander Sandy Alcantara out of the Dominican Republic and Randy Arozarena out of Cuba.

Jun 11, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Miami Marlins starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara (22) delivers a pitch against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Rob Cerfolio was Mozeliak's last notable hire.

While Flores and Rodriguez both have extensive histories with Mozeliak, Rob Cerfolio is the most recent assistant GM to get the Moz seal of approval. Hired away from the Cleveland Guardians in 2024, Cerfolio was tasked with helping Chaim Bloom who succeed Mozeliak in St. Louis.

Currently Cerfolio oversees the Cardinals minor league operations and emphasizes talent development. The Cardinals Way is well known in baseball circles as a system of playing a high contact, quality defensive game what is instructed from day one in the Cardinals minor league system. Cerfolio is in charge of keeping that tradition alive.

One big way the Cardinals are preparing their next wave of talent is through extensive use of sports science and technology. Cerfolio heads the Cardinals in that arena.

In Cleveland, Cerfolio started as an intern in the player development department and worked his way all the way up to being the Director of Player Development his last three years with the organization. In the decade he spent in Cleveland he was part of the development of late round pick Tanner Bibee, shortstop Brayan Rocchio and others.

Cleveland has a reputation as a pitching factory in no small part to the work of Cerfolio and his staff.

Ultimately, any candidate will need support from ownership to turn the team around.

What is really key to note here is the Cardinals currently employ three highly talented assistant GM's with track records of success. These assistants are supported by a healthy number of quality scouts, analytics crews, and coordinators.

In recent years the Angels have hired more front office staffers and a look at both team's organizational rosters indicates a nearly identical total number of employees. Both, however, rank near the bottom of the league in front office size.

Lean and mean works if the employees in place are all excellent at their jobs. To get top tier talent one must pay top tier wages, and that is something Arte Moreno is not known to do.

If the Angels set up a front office with Mozeliak as a chief advisor to any of the three candidates the Angels could be in a much better situation. However, Arte will need to open the checkbook and get any GM quality assitants, scouts, and analysts to get the best results.