We are probably familiar with St. Louis’ front-office succession plan.
The St. Louis Cardinals are about to miss the playoffs for the second consecutive season, a rarity in the organization’s long and distinguished history. With such high expectations (and a high salary) looming over the Cardinals’ clubhouse, one has to believe changes are on the way.
There has been a deliberate campaign to remove John Mozeliak from the front office for years, but it will not happen this winter. St. Louis will maintain Mozeliak as president until 2025, when he wants to step down on his own. After all that Mozeliak has accomplished in St. Louis, he has likely earned the right to go on his own terms. The more impatient parts of the Cards fan base may argue otherwise — and make some valid concerns — but baseball is a business, and few have earned their stripes more completely over the previous two decades than Mozeliak.
As St. Louis prepares for the future, it’ll be intriguing to see how the front staff and ownership discuss life beyond Mozeliak. The experienced team president is scheduled to address supporters shortly after the regular season ends, according to Katie Woo of The Athletic.
Barring an unexpected surprise, Mozeliak will most likely deliver the same “we want to do better” routine heard from losing general managers. The Cardinals are an exceptionally pressured organization, with a fervent fanbase that expressed its unhappiness with record-low attendance numbers throughout the season. Even still, public press briefings rarely provide us with breaking news. That stuff is designated for private leaks.
That is precisely why Woo’s report is so compelling. It may even provide a peek of Mozeliak’s inevitable successor.
Cardinals are setting the stage for Chaim Bloom to replace John Mozeliak after 2025 campaign
St. Louis hired Chaim Bloom after he was sacked as Boston Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer prior to the season. Bloom was first hired part-time to supervise various minor-league duties, but has since signed a full-time contract with St. Louis. He is anticipated to shoulder significant responsibilities this offseason as St. Louis focuses on player development.
“[Chaim Bloom] will be charged with making changes in the Cardinals’ farm system based on his findings,” says Woo. “His first and most pressing task: hiring a new director of player development.”
If the Cardinals are already giving Bloom the authority to make personnel decisions and hire employees, it shows how much influence and trust he has in the organization.
Bloom rose through the ranks of the Tampa Bay Rays’ farm system as a technician, helping to develop one of the strongest prospect pools in baseball prior to his uneven stay in Boston. In recent years, the Cardinals have struggled to develop young talent to replace their aging top players. Maybe Bloom can assist turn the ship around.
It’s no accident that Bloom, a former general manager, is already exerting power in the Cardinals’ decision-making hierarchy. The St. Louis organization often builds from within, at least in terms of management. Mozeliak has been around for two decades; it’s difficult to picture St. Louis abandoning him in favor of a wholly fresh, unproven choice.
Bloom possesses the GM skills required to create a winning squad from the ground up. We can’t blame everything that went wrong in Boston on him, and there are few finer organizations from top to bottom than the Cardinals of St. Louis.
