The St. Louis Cardinals named John Mozeliak as their 11th general manager Wednesday afternoon, filling a position that had been open since Oct. 3, when Walt Jocketty was relieved of his duties after almost 13 years as the Cardinal’s GM.

The move came as somewhat of a surprise to some observers, since Indians assistant GM Chris Antonetti had been considered the favorite to land the job. However, Antonetti reportedly removed himself from consideration recently. That apparently opened the door for Mozeliak, who had been the interim GM since Jocketty’s departure and has been with the Cardinals’ front office since 1995, having twice served as the team’s scouting director.