Former Red Sox CBO Chaim Bloom to take over NL Central franchise following ’25 season
One year after the Red Sox fired former chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom, he will now lead another historic baseball franchise.
Bloom will take over as the Cardinals’ president of baseball operations following the 2025 season. St. Louis chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. announced that the club signed Bloom to a five-year deal, beginning in 2026, succeeding current president of baseball operations John Mozeliak.
“I will still be running baseball operations for 2025, and a year from now I will be stepping down and turning the keys over to him,” Mozeliak said. “I’m excited. I know the end of the runway is coming, and I do think over the next 12 months there is a lot of work to do, and I am looking forward to those challenges.”
The Cardinals hired Bloom as an advisor to Mozeliak back in January, he will oversee the St. Louis’ player development system in 2025.
“Like many of our fans, we’re disappointed with our results the past two seasons,” DeWitt said, who also added that current skipper Oliver Marmol will remain with the team in 2025. “Our goals remain unchanged: to consistently contend for NL Central titles and playoff appearances and ultimately win the World Series.... Our baseball decisions going forward will focus on developing our pipeline of players, giving our young core every opportunity to succeed at the major league level.”
The 41-year-old began his career with the Rays in 2005 and remained with the team until he was hired by the Red Sox in 2019. Boston fired Bloom last September. During his tenure as the leader of the Red Sox front office, Bloom went 267-262 but rebuilt the farm system, mainly the positional player side of the system.
“Ownership has given the green light for us to make real investments across the department now and going forward,” Bloom said during the presser to announce his new role with the Cardinals. “That starts with finding and empowering new leadership in player development, which is a process that’s already begun.”
Bloom also shared one of his philosophies on how to look globally at the Cardinals organization.
"If you want to get out front, you should be looking at everything," Bloom said. "Not from the point of view of placing blame or pointing fingers, but just saying, 'How can we do this the best? How can we win at this? How can we be better than the competition?' If you really want to do that, you've really got to look to do that in every area."
The Cardinals are expected to move on from veteran first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, who is a free agent this winter. The team will need to decide the future of starters Lance and Kyle Gibson, for whom they hold options for heading into free agency.
Bloom and Mozeliak will also speak to veterans Nolan Arenado and Sonny Gray on the direction of the club, not only for next season but the next couple of years. Unlike his time with the Red Sox, Bloom will not be charged with having to trade cornerstones of the Cardinals roster like he had to with Mookie Betts in Boston.
The Cardinals have a succession plan in place for Bloom to take over the organization following the 2025 season.
“I do think creating a succession plan is helpful,” Mozeliak said. “A lot of times in these jobs someone gets fired and then someone new comes in, typically from the outside, and therefore the learning curve and take anywhere from six to 12 months.
“This won’t happen. Next year, when that transition happens, it’s going to be seamless... I think the easiest way to think about this is from a day-to-day standpoint, I will be responsible (for decisions), but anything that is going to affect the organization for a long-term or a meaningful way, I definitely will be consulting with ownership and Chaim to make sure they feel like it is the right decision.”
Bloom will need to hire a new farm director for St. Louis to help usher in the next wave of big league Cardinals.
