Are John Mozeliak’s two new advisers the Cardinals’ next manager and next John Mozeliak?

It’s fair to wonder.

At Saturday’s Winter Warm-up, the president of baseball operations publicly discussed both of his advising additions. There’s Yadier Molina, who is, officially, a special assistant to the president of baseball operations. And there’s Chaim Bloom, whose title is simply “adviser,” though is one heck of a curveball in the front office.

The Cardinals were bad last year. And, 2019 notwithstanding, the Cardinals have been bad in the postseason for nearly a decade (when they even make the postseason). Mozeliak, to his credit, has brought in the legendary former catcher Molina and former Red Sox boss Bloom to improve his organization and challenge his own thinking.

These additions also have us thinking about the Cardinals’ future. And Mozeliak thinking about his own. The Cardinals’ boss reiterated he intends to give up power at the end of the 2025 season.

Suddenly, we have a “Succession” situation, referencing the beloved HBO show about a billionaire and his heirs.

Michael Girsch, Randy Flores, Moises Rodriguez and other Cardinals executives have worked directly under Mozeliak for many, many years. These are fascinating thinkers, likable personalities and humbled hard-workers.

But Bloom’s résumé is resplendent — working with both the Red Sox and the Rays, two winning organizations who go on completely different routes to get to October.

“I think having a succession plan,” Mozeliak said, “and coupling some of the things that I’ve been involved in at such a high level, (is important). I’m starting my 17th season (as head of baseball operations). It’s probably reasonable to think that having a different voice at some point would make a lot of sense.

“And so, as I think about where the organization is, and where we need to go, Bill (DeWitt Jr., the Cardinals chairman) and I have had a lot of discussions on what we want to see that look like. You know, a lot of people are sort of jumping to conclusions with the Chaim hire, but I would say that, at the very least, it strengthens our bench. At the very least. Where it leads to, we’ll see. … (It’s) having him help us sort of have a better understanding of: how do we look, relative to industry?”

And that’s the thing. The Cardinals sure love the Cardinals. And a lot of the baseball industry respects the Cardinals. But after last year, it’s fair to ask if the Cardinals are (or, at least, were) in the Cardinals’ own way? That’s why the Bloom addition is so valuable to the club. This baseball industry is one that evolves constantly — and often behind closed doors. One day, you’re a forward-thinker, the next day, you’re 71-91.

And fair or not, Bloom’s arrival should light a fire under those wary of being fired. That’s what happens when you’re 71-91 and not 91-71.

Bloom, of course, is connected to a quartet of acquisitions this offseason. Relievers Nick Robertson, Ryan Fernandez, Riley O’Brien and Andrew Kittredge, all now in the Cardinals’ organization, were previously in the Red Sox or Rays organizations. So, yes, Mozeliak is already taking advice from his adviser.

As for the other one, Molina has yet to rejoin the Cardinals — he’s managing in Puerto Rico’s winter league. Yes, managing — it’s something Molina has been public about doing, hopefully, at the highest level someday. Meanwhile, Cardinals manager Oli Marmol is in the final year of his contract. On Saturday, Mozeliak was asked if he’s concerned Molina’s presence could cause possible friction.

“Not really, but I can understand why there would be a question,” Mozeliak said. “It could become real, we’ll find out, but I don’t think entering into this would make sense to approach it that way. Clearly, I’m a big advocate for Oli, I believe in him, but we also recognize last year was not good. So we have to make some adjustments. We (need to) do things differently. Hopefully we do it in a successful manner.”

I like Marmol. Have written it before. I like his honesty and curiosity. I like the way he loves his players. I like the way he thinks about baseball — spend even five minutes with him and you’ll hear encouraging, captivating takes on managing. Yes, he made some mistakes last season. Yes, the defense deteriorated at some key positions. Yes, his clubhouse lacked a lot of player-driven leadership. Yes, the season unrelentingly unraveled. But with better starting pitching — and, while we’re doing this, hopefully adding some relief pitching — he should have the 2024 club contending for a playoff spot.

If not, the new manager could very well be the current special assistant to the president of baseball operations.