The St. Louis Cardinals are under new leadership as the 2025-26 offseason progresses. After having John Mozeliak at the helm of baseball operations since 2008, the Cards turned things over to Chaim Bloom.
Bloom got straight to work this winter and traded Sonny Gray to the Boston Red Sox to allow the Cardinals to start their rebuild. It may be a tough few years in St. Louis, but Bloom has a plan to get the Cardinals back to where they need to be.
However, his approach is different from Mozeliak’s in a lot of ways, and this is good for the Cardinals and their fans.
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How Chaim Bloom’s Approach Is Different
Feb 27, 2020; Fort Myers, Florida, USA; Boston Red Sox general manager Chaim Bloom takes questions from reporters during the game against the Philadelphia Phillies at JetBlue Park. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images | Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
“Nobody who gets into this game has any guarantees, but I feel the more fully we commit to what we need to do, the better it will go and the quicker we will get there,” Bloom said after trading Gray. “I don’t view this as something that’s just about patience. I view it as something we have to attack with urgency, and we have to do that every day.”
The most obvious difference is his philosophy. For years, Cardinals grew tired of hearing Mozeliak preach patience, but right off the bat, Bloom has spoken in a different tone, which is much better for the Cardinals and good for their fans to hear.
Another difference is that he is more willing to take risks. Derrick Goold pointed out in his weekly chat that Bloom is willing to gamble on high-upside talent.
The pitchers the Cardinals brought back from the Red Sox in the Gray deal bring more swing-and-miss and a much higher upside than other players within the Cardinals farm system.
On top of that, Bloom has picked a direction for the Cardinals. Last offseason, the Cardinals only signed one free agent, Phil Maton and were stuck in the middle rather than going all in on contending or rebuilding.
Fans wanted to see the Cardinals commit to something rather than stay in the middle. Unfortunately, it’s going to take time for them to contend again, but having a clear-cut plan is much better than having a mediocre team that hangs around .500 for most of the year.
It was time for a change in St. Louis, and fans certainly appreciate that Bloom has picked a direction and stayed true to his word. He is saying and doing all the right things, and in the end, it should help the Cardinals get back to contention in a few years.
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