ST. LOUIS -- Chaim Bloom, the man put in charge of making the Cardinals yearly World Series contenders again, gave few specifics about what the makeup of the 2026 team will look like in his introductory news conference, but he did vow that there will be no short-term sacrifices made that might impact the long-term goal of returning the club to the top of baseball.
Choosing his words carefully and never once uttering the word “rebuild” -- neither during his news conference nor in a lengthy session later with media -- Bloom refused to put labels or timetables on the project ahead of returning the Cardinals to the contender status they possessed before falling on hard times and out of the playoffs the past three seasons. Bloom, 42, said it will take a strategic and deliberate strategy in the years ahead for the Cardinals to once again resemble the team that dominated the National League for nearly two decades earlier in the century.
“People will call [the upcoming process] different things and that’s OK, but to me it’s just about staying focused on the goal of trying to make move after move that pushes us toward it,” said Bloom, an advisor for the team the past two seasons who now shifts into the president of baseball operations job. “There’s a lot of different things that can mean [in terms of moves], and it’s still early to know what the possibilities might be, but that’s going to remain our goal.”
Bloom, who had success with the Rays (2005-19) and Red Sox (2020-23) by developing strong Minor League feeder systems, spent the past year overhauling the Cards' farm system in hopes that it will be one that produces more pitching and one that regularly funnels superstar and supplementary talent to the big league club.
“Winning under the DeWitt family’s leadership changed the way the industry thought about the amateur draft and how to use information to make baseball decisions,” Bloom said of the Cards' strong player development system in the past that he hopes to build again. “That’s our legacy, that’s who we are at our best. We set the standard, and that standard is always changing. … Now, we get to do it again. That takes boldness to do things our way, and no fear of being different if we think different means better.”
The Cards hope to be better -- both in the standings and at the gate -- going forward with the Yale-educated Bloom following a 2025 season where they prioritized opportunities for younger players over a full-out pursuit of another championship. The Cards signed just one free agent -- reliever Phil Maton -- and that didn’t sit well with a fanbase that uses the 11 World Series banners flying at Busch Stadium as a standard of success. Even though the Cardinals went 78-84 and weren’t eliminated from the playoffs until Game 159, Busch Stadium III saw many of the smallest crowds in its history -- something that grabbed the attention of the club’s ownership.
“We’ve all seen it -- the numbers are down and it’s not something we’re happy about,” team president Bill DeWitt III said of the 2025 attendance figures. “To the extent that that’s a message, the message has been received.”
Bloom’s first challenges will involve addressing a roster that requires maintenance. Veterans Nolan Arenado and Sonny Gray, who have both had one-on-one meetings with their new boss, have stated desires to play for championship contenders, but Bloom views their cases differently. Bloom said based on Arenado’s wishes that “there may be a better fit somewhere else,” but he stressed that the club has no intention of releasing the 10-time Gold Glove winner. As for Gray, Bloom does feel there is a more realistic pathway to the veteran right-hander’s return to St. Louis next season.
Bloom stressed that the Cards must find ways to enhance the talents of struggling sluggers Jordan Walker and Nolan Gorman. He pointed out the duplication in having left-handers Brendan Donovan, Alec Burleson, Lars Nootbaar and Gorman, raved about the enormous upside of top prospects JJ Wetherholt and Liam Doyle and talked of building around Masyn Winn and Iván Herrera.
All that will take place with manager Oliver Marmol returning in 2026, and all of it done with the idea of returning the Cards to World Series contention, he said.
“We’re not where we want to be, we’re not where we need to be, we’re not where our fans expect us to be and we’re not where we expect ourselves to be,” Bloom said. “Our goal is to field a team every year that can compete for this division and for a World Series championship.”