Bernie’s Redbird Review: Chaim Bloom Will Reenergize Cardinals Chairman Bill DeWitt Jr.

THE REDBIRD REVIEW 

In their medium-splash news conference on Monday, the Cardinals didn’t make any giant waves. But in reality, the arrival of Chaim Bloom can turn out to be a very big deal.

The Cardinals announced Bloom’s appointment to succeed John Mozeliak as president of baseball operations after the 2025 season.

Until then, Bloom will be immersed in the hugely important assignment of modernizing the Cardinals’ antiquated player development program and minor-league system.

Once the industry leader in consistently producing homegrown talent, the Cardinals got complacent and relinquished their advantage.

It took too long for chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. and president of baseball operations John Mozeliak to pep up and reconnect to the organization’s player-development heritage, but they’ve finally snapped into action.

And Bloom got them there.

That’s his first achievement as prominent new member of the Cardinals’ baseball family.

Given DeWitt’s background as an avid proponent of player development, Bloom is the ideal choice to revive DeWitt’s languishing farm, and he’ll transform an outdated horse and buggy operation into something modern and all encompassing.

The Cardinals will unplug their Commodore 64 system to install advanced technology. There will be hitting labs, and pitching labs, and a substantial increase in specialized baseball instructors. Bloom will come up with everything the baby-bird prospects need to enhance their development on the road to the big leagues.

This will matter. It’s exciting to think of the Cardinals having an assembly line of talent again. Of course, in our short-attention span culture, there will be demands for instant gratification and shrill caterwauling, urging another round of stupid and wasteful free-agent signings.

Intelligent fans will understand the value of Bloom’s urgent assignment. They will remember the role Jeff Luhnow had when DeWitt recruited him out of the business world in the early aughts. Luhnow’s gift for advanced analysis and his shrewd process for player procurement and development made DeWitt very happy.

Chairman DeWitt was fired up. He loved this stuff. I think he would love it again. Fans should understand what’s at stake here. I want them to realize how Bloom can inspire DeWitt anew, and that’s one of biggest reasons why Chaim Bloom is the right person for this job.

Bloom had a leading role in creating the best player-development system in the majors at Tampa Bay. He was, as The Athletic noted, a star evaluator in the team’s “incubator of thinkers.”

Through the years the masters-degree program included Andrew Friedman, now the chief baseball officer for the Dodgers since 2015. And there’s the brilliant Erik Neander, who currently runs the Rays. Bloom worked with – and learned from – some of the best minds in the business in the skill of gaining a competitive edge in constructing rosters.

In 2008, Bloom wrote Tampa Bay’s definitive development manual, “The Rays Way.” According to The Athletic, Bloom “over the years ascended to the ranks of an organization that refined the art of doing more with less. It has since become a pipeline for teams looking for a similar edge.”

The Cardinals are looking to regain the edge they had for a long time – but lost – over the last 10 years or so.

In particular, Bloom was heralded for his ability to utilize datasets to identify low-cost, high-value pitching talent. Under Bloom, the Rays took in a large number of pitchers, made adjustments to their pitching arsenals and approach, and watched them thrive in the Rays Way.

From 2008 through 2019 — Bloom’s prime time at Tampa Bay — the Rays led the majors in Wins Above Replacement for pitchers age 25 years or younger. Specifically, their young starting pitchers were No. 1 in WAR over that time. Their young relievers were 10th. Their young position players were 7th in WAR. The Rays were running an elite prospect factory!

Tom Verducci – of Sports Illustrated and Fox Sports – wrote this about the Rays and Bloom: “No franchise understands better how to identify, develop and maintain quality pitchers.”

You can add position players in there, too.

I think that would be good for the Cardinals … unless, of course, you were enthralled by seeing the Cardinals spend $44 million on Steven Matz, honor Miles Mikolas with a $40 million contract extension, and hand center fielder Dexter Fowler a contract worth $82.5 million.

After being hired to run the Boston Red Sox, Bloom turned out to be a poor fit for an impulsive ownership group that couldn’t decide what they wanted him to do. Among other travesties, Bloom was ordered to trade star outfielder Mookie Betts to the Dodgers.

Bloom’s primary assignment  for the BoSox – create a player-development system that kept the Rays punching above their weight – was a success.

As Bloom took over before the 2020 season, Baseball America ranked the Red Sox with the worst farm system in the majors. At the start of the 2024 season, the Red Sox were No. 10. Near the end of this season, they were No. 3 and had six of the sport’s Top 100 prospects. Boston’s 40-man roster has  several rising talents. The Red Sox are set up for a positive future, and that’s attributable to Bloom’s work.

The only criticism of Bloom in Boston was his tendency to be indecisive in trade negotiations. He wasn’t aggressive enough. He hesitated. Other baseball executives felt that Bloom was difficult to deal with – not because he was a bad guy; it was about his inexperience in the top job. Bloom’s underlying anxiety during his first time in charge was an issue, but he should be much better prepared for his second shot at supervising a baseball department.

The Cardinals should benefit from the lessons Bloom learned – good and bad – in Boston. And I really like the match between Bloom and DeWitt. When Bloom becomes the top baseball executive in St. Louis, he won’t be working for a hyperactive owner. Bloom will be working for a team owner that understands the tremendous value of having a thriving farm system. And that is Bloom’s specialty.

Say what you want about DeWitt, but he operates with a stable and steady personality. He can be too steady, if there is such a thing. Bloom’s fresh ideas and suggestions will be good and healthy for DeWitt. We already know that because DeWitt thinks highly enough of Bloom to quickly endorse Bloom’s sweeping recommendations for upgrading the farm-development system. And DeWitt already has given Bloom a five-year contract to move into the top baseball post in St. Louis a year from now.

As for Bloom’s immediate job priority, I can’t think of a more suitable choice to oversee the rebuilding of STL’s dilapidated system; all we have to do is look at the track record in player development.

I just cited how Bloom dramatically elevated the Red Sox player-development machine in fast time. And as Baseball America wrote about Tampa Bay: “The Rays have been near the top of the farm system ranking more often than not in the 21st century, which explains how a team with a bottom-of-baseball payroll can find perennial success.”

Maybe it’s just a coincidence, But Tampa Bay’s player-development dominance receded (somewhat) after Bloom went to Boston.

The Cardinals are entering a rebuild … even if they decline to acknowledge it as such. This rebuild primarily will take place in the minors, but it also means a relatively brief rebuilding phase for the big club.

With DeWitt revved up to go, Bloom will have the necessary financial resources to rehab the St. Louis player-development model. With more funds being allocated to the minors, the major-league player payroll will be reduced for 2025, and some larger-salaried Cardinals could be traded.

Yes … that’s a rebuild.

And that’s OK.

If we’re being realistic about this — it’s time.

The Cardinals need to be straight with the fans. If they’re honest about past mistakes and own up to the work that must be done here, most reasonable people will understand the plan and give the team a chance to restore the pipeline.

Why in baseball heaven would anyone want the Cardinals to continue losing ground in a downward trend? Why would they want the Cardinals to have to overpay for average free agents — only to have a team with a potential upside of 85 wins? Why is it a wise idea to have to go out and buy replacement pieces for a starting rotation every winter? What’s the point of that?

It’s easy to spot the ominous trend line.

Consider:

– From 2000 through 2015, a span of 16 seasons, the Cardinals made the postseason 13 times. They won two World Series and four NL pennants. They led the majors in most postseason games competed in, and most postseason games won.

– Since the Cardinals’ most recent World Series title (2011), nine other MLB franchises have won a World Series – and three of the nine have won two.

– Since the Redbirds’ last NL pennant (2013) a total of 14 major-league teams have won pennants. That includes eight National League teams: Dodgers (3), Diamondbacks (1), Braves (1), Cubs (1), Phillies (1), Giants (1), Nationals (1) and Mets (1.)

– After winning 65 postseason games from 2000 through 2015, the Cardinals 4-11 in postseason games over the last nine seasons. That includes a 1-9 in their last 10 postseason games.

– In the last eight full MLB seasons, the Cardinals have missed the playoffs five times.

– Since the start of 2023, the Cardinals rank 22nd overall and 11th among NL teams with a .475 regular-season winning percentage.

The arrow – clearly – is pointing down. The end of a fantastic run was followed by a gradual descent into mediocrity and a paucity of postseason success.

Relative to their previously high standards, the Cardinals are broken. And like anything else that gets broken, it must be rebuilt. Bloom will be a plus for DeWitt.

Back in the glory days, DeWitt always put a premium on player development, and his enthusiasm for a prosperous farm operation catapulted the Cardinals to one of the greatest eras of ball in franchise history. I truly believe Bloom can reenergize DeWitt’s love of baseball.

Thanks for reading …

–Bernie

A 2023 inductee into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, Bernie has provided informed opinions and perspective on St. Louis sports through his columns, radio shows and podcasts since 1985.

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Stats used in my baseball columns are sourced from FanGraphs, Baseball Reference, Statcast, StatHead, Baseball Savant, Baseball Prospectus, Brooks Baseball Net, and Sports Info Solutions unless otherwise noted.