Mar 7, 2019; Port Charlotte, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Rays senior vice president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom looks on before a game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Charlotte Sports Park. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-Imagn Images Kim Klement-Imagn Images

Cardinals' Chaim Bloom Sounds Open To Dealing Lefty Hitter

Originally posted on St. Louis Cardinals on SI
By Patrick McAvoy | Last updated Nov 9, 2025 8:36 AM ET

Will the St. Louis Cardinals trade a left-handed hitter away this offseason?

On paper, it seems like the club should. St. Louis has guys like Nolan Gorman, Lars Nootbaar, Alec Burleson, and Brendan Donovan, among others. Throughout the 2025 season, Gorman was talked about as a "runway" guy who was going to get an opportunity to essentially see if he was a piece the team could keep around in the long-term. Burleson wasn't initially in that conversation, but burst the door wide open en route to winning the Silver Slugger Award.

Nootbaar's availability for Opening Day is up in the air right now, which certainly hurts the idea of a trade. Donovan was an All-Star in 2025 and any team would be lucky to have him, like the Cardinals are. There are a lot of lefties here and potentially more on the way as No. 1 prospect JJ Wetherholt bats left-handed.

So, will the Cardinals look to clear any out? President of baseball operations Chaim Bloom opened up about this topic on "STL Sports Central."

"Have to? No," Bloom said. "But, obviously, you want the roster to fit together as good as it can and I do think that we're in a good position to do that. You know, it was clear this year at times it showed up during games that just if you have a lot of like players, it sometimes just makes it harder to deploy your roster the way you want.

The Cardinals should trade a lefty

Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

"So, it certainly makes sense for us to look at any time you have an abundance of something to potentially look at using that and being willing to move from that to address other needs. I don't think we have to. I certainly think we could bring all these guys back. They're all talented players and we'll be able to find places for them to play, but certainly, again, like to lineup on something that makes up better overall."

While Bloom didn't specifically say right there that the Cardinals "need" to trade one of these guys, from his point it sounds like the team will look to do so. He's not wrong. If you have a handful of guys who are similar at the plate, it's difficult to differentiate your lineup.

In 2025, the Cardinals dealt with this and wasn't great at times. Also, with the surplus, it was difficult getting enough at-bats for everyone. Then you see guys slumping in part because they weren't getting consistent opportunities. That seemingly was the case with Gorman, at least early on.

The team doesn't "have" to make a trade, but it's arguably the right call to clear up the lefties with at least one or two moves.

This article first appeared on St. Louis Cardinals on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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