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Cardinals announce major front office shakeup

Originally posted on MLB on ClutchPoints
By Russell Steinberg | Last updated Sep 30, 2024 4:02 PM ET

After a disappointing 2024 season that saw the St. Louis Cardinals finish third in the National League Central, team owner Bill DeWitt is ready to shake things up.

DeWitt has hired Chaim Bloom, the former Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays general manager, to lead the Cardinals forward as President of Baseball Operations. Bloom will sign a five-year deal, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.

Nightengale added that current general manager Mike Girsch will be reassigned within the organization and Bloom will oversee player development “until he officially replaces [current President John] Mozeliak” after next season. Bloom will then take over as President of Baseball Operations in 2026.

Though the Cardinals weren’t bad by any stretch in 2024, they finished 83-79, missing the playoffs for the second straight year. St. Louis also hasn’t qualified for the National League Division Series since 2019.

Bloom is no stranger to the Cardinals’ organization, serving as a consultant to the franchise this season.

“Chaim Bloom…joined the Cardinals earlier this year as a consultant to audit the club’s minor-league operations,” wrote The Athletic’s Katie Woo, who reported that Bloom would take the job earlier in the week. “Bloom has since joined the front office full-time. He will be charged with making changes in the Cardinals’ farm system based on his findings. His first and most pressing task: hiring a new director of player development.”

Chaim Bloom has his work cut out for him with the Cardinals

Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom talks with the media before a game against the Cleveland Guardians at Fenway Park. Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

If there’s one thing Bloom knows how to do, it’s develop talent. That’s how he made his name during his tenure with the Rays, where he rose from an intern to Senior Vice President of Baseball Operations. During his tenure, he dealt with a Tampa Bay franchise that consistently had one of the lowest payrolls in the game. He relied on developing the young talent that entered Tampa’s system during the woeful first decade-plus of the team’s existence.

The Red Sox hired him away in late 2019, and while Boston reached the 2021 ALCS on his watch, his tenure is best remembered for the team trading away Mookie Betts and letting Xander Bogaerts leave in free agency.

Now, he inherits a Cardinals franchise “in trouble,” with a farm system that ranks in the bottom half of baseball. The team’s payroll, while ranking in the top half overall, is still well below the luxury tax threshold. Woo reported, however, that the franchise will prioritize player development in the immediate-term, giving Bloom some latitude to rebuild the entire organization without worrying about the team’s 2025 win-loss record.

Nightengale also reported that the team will reduce payroll in 2025, making players like Sonny Gray, Nolan Arenado, and Willson Contreras potential trade chips.

Bloom’s first task will be to hire a new director of player development, according to Woo. With the offseason officially underway for most teams, Bloom has the entire offseason in front of him to get started.

This article first appeared on MLB on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

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