ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Cardinals announced a series of personnel changes on Monday afternoon, with longtime president of baseball operations John Mozeliak set to step down after the 2025 season.
Advisor Chaim Bloom will take over as the organization’s president of baseball operations in 2026. Bloom, the former top executive of the Boston Red Sox, was hired before the 2024 season to canvass what had become an outdated and underfunded player development system. Before he takes over the club in 2026, he will be responsible for overseeing major upgrades to the Cardinals’ player development system.
“Effective immediately, Chaim Bloom will oversee a reset of our player development system,” chairman Bill DeWitt II said during Monday’s end of year press conference. “As part of his assessment this past season, Chaim has developed a plan for improving our player development infrastructure and philosophy.
“We will be making significant new investments in staffing programs and infrastructure, beginning immediately and in the years to come.”
Bill DeWitt Jr. announces the plan for change in the #STLCards front office: “After next season Chaim (Bloom) will succeed Mo (John Mozeliak) as President of Baseball Operations and he has agreed to a five-year contract beginning next year. We’re excited about the future.” pic.twitter.com/G99gnRBj2t
— Bally Sports Midwest (@BallySportsMW) September 30, 2024
Bloom signed a five-year contract as president of baseball operations, which will carry him through 2031.
General manager Mike Girsch was also reassigned. He was named the organization’s vice president of special projects. More clarity about what that role entails is expected to come over the next few weeks, as the club is still configuring daily responsibilities. Girsch has been with the Cardinals since 2006 and has one year remaining on his current contract. Mozeliak does not expect to hire a new general manager this season and will instead absorb the position’s responsibilities under his own title. The expectation is Bloom will add to his staff once he officially takes over in 2006. Longtime director of player development Gary LaRocque also announced his retirement in September. Bloom will be responsible for hiring LaRocque’s replacement.
Under Mozeliak, who has been baseball operations’ top executive since 2008 and has posted just one losing season, the Cardinals have won six National League Central division titles, two National League pennants and the 2011 World Series. His final season will be a “reset” period, where the priority will be centered on the team’s emerging young core. As a result, major-league payroll will go down in 2025.
“As I turn the page to my final year, there are some things I hope we can accomplish,” Mozeliak said. “I’d like to set us on a course to get back to consistent winning, focus on the build up of our baseball operations, invest in new infrastructure and technologies.
“This is a multi-year strategy, a focus on player procurement and development. It’s a long-term investment in the organization’s future.”
Bloom, who has extensive experience in modernizing player development, will oversee the majority of this investment. Mozeliak will remain in his role for one more season to help oversee the transition.
“I joined the St. Louis Cardinals in January as fresh eyes for our entire operation, with an emphasis this year on player development,” Bloom said. “Ownership has given the green light for us to make real investments across the department now and going forward.
“There’s a lot of work ahead of us these days … but the St. Louis Cardinals at our best, are the organization that sets the bar for everyone else, and we can be again.”
Once heralded as one of baseball’s best organizations in terms of producing homegrown players, the Cardinals’ model has become outdated. As they work to revamp it, the organization is willing to concede at the major-league level, at least temporarily.
“We have always prided ourselves on drafting and developing our own players,” DeWitt II said. “It is clear that we need make significant changes to get back to this model. 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.”
“We’re excited about the future and committed to seeing this multi-year plan through as we enter a period of significant organizational change.” DeWitt added. “We believe this approach will give us the best chance of ensuring a smooth transition.”
As for staffing changes on the field, manager Oli Marmol will return as manager in 2025. Both Mozeliak and Marmol are still configuring what the major-league staff will look like, but Mozeliak did indicate to expect some changes over the next few days. Bench coach Daniel Descalso and pitching coach Dusty Blake are under contract through 2025. Hitting coach Turner Ward’s contract expires at the end of October.
(Top photo of Chaim Bloom: Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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