ST. LOUIS — For the first time since he was introduced as the St. Louis Cardinals president of baseball operations-in-waiting one year ago to the day, Chaim Bloom addressed a public ready to hear his vision for the franchise now that the 2025 season is over.
“The Cardinals win first and foremost with players we develop,” Bloom said. “That operating model that has sustained this organization for decades is still sound. But for it to develop the results that we need, we have to be elite at acquiring and developing baseball talent in every aspect.”
“We’re not where we want to be,” Bloom said Tuesday. “We’re not where we need to be. We’re not where our fans expect us to be. We are not where we expect ourselves to be.”
Bloom, the former executive with the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays, did not identify a timeline for how long it would take to get the club where he wants it outside of saying it could be a matter of years.
“We will always want to win, and we will hunt moves and decisions that allow us to do that right now too, as long as they also serve our ultimate goal. But when we have to choose between short-term gratification and our bigger goal of contending consistently we will choose the long term. We will make moves with that ultimate goal in mind because simply put that’s where this organization needs to be,” he said.
He’s been out of public view but his imprint has appeared in noticeable ways since last offseason, when he and the organization hired Rob Cerfolio away from Cleveland to become assistant general manager for player development and performance and Larry Day, also from Cleveland, to be director of player development.
In July’s MLB draft, the club selected power pitchers like Tennessee’s Liam Doyle and Tanner Franklin as they attempt to stock up on arms that could make a quick ascent through the minors and impact a pitching staff that has lacked swing and miss potential.
At the July 31 trade deadline, the Cardinals obtained a former Bloom farmhand in Boston, first baseman Blaze Jordan.
More recently, as the regular season ended, according to the St. Louis Post Dispatch and The Athletic, Bloom has had discussions with club veterans like Nolan Arenado and Willson Contreras, who, like Sonny Gray, all hold no-trade clauses and can veto potential exit paths.
There is a likelihood that moving them will also require the team to spend millions of dollars to clear the full contract off the books and to maximize a prospect’s return.
“Our goal is to field a team every year and compete for this division and a World Series championship,” Bloom said. “In this competitive business, the front of the line is always moving. We’re not going to concede anything. We need to be focused on our ultimate goal.”
Bloom said he will retain manager Oli Marmol.
“As far as our field staff, there are still some things that we need to sort out,” Bloom said. “I expect a lot of continuity. It’s a good group of people that really cares.”
Cardinals CEO Bill DeWitt Jr. said he and Bloom have not discussed a payroll but that his new baseball head will have the resources to carry out the job.
The team’s renegotiated television contract has reduced its war chest in recent years and a franchise that has used strong attendance to punch above its financial weight for the last quarter century.
The team’s attendance has dropped from 3.32 million in 2022 to 2.25 million this year.
“I understand their frustration,” CEO Bill DeWitt Jr. said. “They love their Cardinals. They love their Cardinals winning. We’re going to make every effort to get back to that.”