After the season ended, it was announced that St. Louis Cardinals’ longtime baseball operations head John Mozeliak would be stepping down after next season. His replacement will be former Boston Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom. Bloom and the team agreed to a five-year contract. He spent this season as an advisor to Mozeliak where he reportedly has had a prominent voice inside the organization. The team wants to rebuild and modernize its player development department, so Chaim Bloom is the right man to modernize the “Cardinal Way.”
St. Louis Has Been A Shell Of Itself The Past Four Years
Embed from Getty ImagesThe past four seasons haven’t been too kind to the St. Louis Cardinals. While they’ve won two division titles and gone to the postseason three times, the franchise has been a shell of themselves. It can be argued that the team benefited from playing in a weak division. During those three postseason appearances, St. Louis was eliminated early. For the past two seasons, the Cardinals have completely missed the postseason. However, there are other underlying issues affecting the Major League team.
Player Development Has Become A Big Problem
Embed from Getty ImagesThe most alarming issue is their lack of player development. In what was known as the “Cardinal Way”, St. Louis used to routinely turn previously unknown minor leaguers into solid contributors and sometimes stars. However, in recent years, St. Louis has failed to develop any impactful players. Some have argued that St. Louis’s prospects are woefully unprepared when being called up to the big leagues. While Masyn Winn has shown some promise, it remains to be seen if he can take the “next step.” Given the issues the Cardinals have had in developing players in recent years, the odds don’t look very promising.
Once promising prospects like Nolan Gorman, Zack Thompson, Victor Scott II, Matthew Liberatore, Lars Nootbaar, and Jordan Walker are just a few examples of players whose development has stalled. Others like Dakota Hudson and Dylan Carlson all failed to pan out. Some former prospects like Jordan Hicks, Lane Thomas, Tyler O’Neill, and Tommy Edman have gone on to have success with other teams. Fortunately for St. Louis, Chaim Bloom is an expert ad building farm systems and developing players. He’s had a lot of success doing this with the Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox.
Some Good Came Out Of Chaim Bloom’s Tenure In Boston
Embed from Getty ImagesYou may remember Chaim Bloom’s stormy tenure as the Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer. He’s best known for trading Mookie Betts, failing to re-sign Xander Bogaerts, overpaying for injury-prone Trevor Story, two trade deadline disasters, and his teams finishing in last place three times in four seasons. He’d eventually be fired just before the 2023 season ended. However, despite his many failures, Bloom did do a lot of good for the Red Sox as well.
Upon being hired by the Red Sox, Chaim Bloom inherited a farm system that was ranked as the worst in baseball. They only had one player ranked inside baseball’s top 100 prospect list. However, in just four years, Bloom quickly turned it around and it currently is ranked seventh. Boston has only begun to experience the fruits of Bloom’s labor. It currently has five players ranked inside MLB’s top 100 prospect list. Bloom was responsible for bringing in four of them. One of those prospects, Roman Anthony is ranked inside the top three. Under his watch, the team successfully developed impact players like Ceddanne Rafaela, Triston Casas, Wilyer Abreu, and Jarren Duran.
Chaim Bloom Is A Good Fit
The St. Louis Cardinals are a good fit for Chaim Bloom to run their baseball operation. Unlike Bloom’s former bosses John Henry and Tom Werner, Cardinals owner Bill Dewitt Jr. isn’t mercurial. He’s also shown to have patience and value continuity over making quick changes. After all, he allowed John Mozeliak to extend manager Oliver Marmol’s contract despite losing over 90 games and finishing in last place. In Boston, an argument can be made that he didn’t have the full support of the organization. He was reportedly given a very strict spending budget. However, the St. Louis Cardinals seem to be all-in on Bloom’s vision. While he isn’t going to fully take over until 2026, the Cardinals are already set to reduce their payroll to devote more resources toward player development.
Bloom Might Have An Easier Time Fixing St. Louis’s Player Development
In some ways, overhauling the Cardinals will be easier than what he had to do with the Red Sox’s player development department. Unlike his arrival in Boston, the cupboard isn’t completely bare in St. Louis. The Cardinals’ minor league system is currently ranked 19th in baseball. It currently has three prospects ranked inside MLB’s top 100 prospect list. While St. Louis’s player development department needs to be overhauled, there’s at least some promising talent in the pipeline.
It Won’t Be Long Until The Cardinals Are Consistently Contending
Embed from Getty ImagesGiven Chaim Bloom’s successful track record at building up minor league systems, the Cardinals couldn’t have found a better person to take over their baseball operation. The team seems to be bought into his vision since they’ll be shedding payroll to put more into player development. With a supportive owner, St. Louis is a place where Chaim Bloom can truly thrive. He’s even spent this season getting to know St. Louis’s baseball operation giving him more of a chance to be successful. While results won’t immediately be seen, it won’t be long until the St. Louis Cardinals are consistently contending again.
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