The Cardinals brain trust added a new voice who has led the baseball operations for the Boston Red Sox and been a key figure in the front office of the Tampa Bay Rays with the hiring of executive Chaim Bloom as an adviser to Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak and a “fresh set of eyes†on the club’s baseball operations department.
The Cardinals announced Bloom’s hiring on Monday afternoon. He’s the latest front office addition to take the “adviser†title this offseason. He joins former bench coach Joe McEwing and former catcher and franchise icon Yadier Molina as recently hired advisers to Mozeliak.
Of course, Bloom, 40, is the lone outsider of the group. While McEwing and Molina played for the Cardinals and came up through their farm system, Bloom does not have previous ties to the Cardinals as a player, coach or executive.
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Bloom most recently served as the chief baseball officer of the Boston Red Sox from Oct. 28, 2019, through Sept. 14, 2023.
“It’s a great opportunity, when you think about the length of time Bill DeWitt and myself have been together and really a lot of the senior leadership in the front office, it’s just going to be nice to have somebody to give us a fresh perspective,†Mozeliak said on Monday.
Mozeliak pointed to the lack of churn and the “steady state†of the front office as having kept the Cardinals from adding a lot of “outside voices.†Though he said he has considered bringing in an outside voice over the past couple of years.
“The main purpose of Chaim isn’t so much player acquisition or roster building at the moment. It’s really more of organizational structure, if you will,†Mozeliak said.
Mozeliak joined the Cardinals organization following the 1995 season as an assistant in the scouting department. He climbed up to senior vice president and general manager in October 2007, and he became president of baseball operations in June 2017.
Cardinals general manager Michael Girsch joined the organization in 2006. Assistant general manager/international scouting Moises Rodriguez joined the organization in 2007.
Assistant general manager and scouting director , including the World Series championship team in 2006, and then, he returned as a member of the front office in 2015. Assistant general manager and director of player development Gary Larocque joined the organization in 2008.
Stability and the adherence to “The Cardinal Way†has been a trademark of the club, which last season had its first losing record since 2007.
Mozeliak described Bloom’s role as part time and advisory. Bloom will not relocate to ºüÀêÊÓƵ, but the position will allow Bloom to “really take a look behind the curtain and really give us some insights on topics that a lot of us are curious about.â€
Bloom is expected to be present for periods of spring training in Jupiter, Florida. Mozeliak said he’d welcome Bloom making visits to ºüÀêÊÓƵ from time to time as well. Bloom will be given a “broad brush†as far as what he has access to within the baseball operations department.
“We’ve always prided ourselves with our history, but understanding best practices is something I think smart businesses do,†Mozeliak said.
Bloom oversaw the transition the Red Sox made away from the core of the 2018 World Series championship team. They traded away star outfielders and Andrew Benintendi during Bloom’s first two successive offseasons. They also lost shortstop Xander Bogaerts through free agency last winter.
Bloom’s first season at the helm of the Red Sox came in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. In his four seasons, the club went 272-274. They had a 90-win season and advanced to the American League Championship Series in 2021.
The Red Sox fired Bloom this fall following back-to-back fifth-place finishes in the American League East, and they hired former Chicago Cubs assistant general manager Craig Breslow to run their baseball operations department.
Mozeliak said he reached out to Bloom right away in September, to express interest in bringing him aboard after the Red Sox let him go. Reports first surfaced in November that Bloom had been discussing a position with the Cardinals.
On Monday, Mozeliak confirmed that the discussions had been ongoing for months and were finalized over the holidays.
“I’m sure he had multiple options,†Mozeliak said. “To some degree, there was a courtship, but in terms of him not wanting to walk too far away from the game — I think that’s a fair statement too. Keeping one foot in (baseball) is something I think he desired.â€
Bloom, a 2004 graduate of Yale University, has spent 19 years working in Major League Baseball. He held entry-level intern positions with the San Diego Padres and MLB as well as having served as an intern for the Rays, where he spent 15 years prior to his tenure with the Red Sox.
His final three years with the Rays were as senior vice president of baseball operations.
Bloom served as the Rays’ assistant director of minor league operations from 2008-11, then director of baseball operations from 2011-2014. Following the 2014 season, he became the club’s vice president of baseball operations.
In his capacities with the Rays, the areas he oversaw included personnel, player development, international scouting, contract negotiations and salary arbitration.
Bloom initially rose through the player development side, and that remained a perceived strength of his during his tenure in Boston.
In the final year of Bloom’s tenure with the Rays, Baseball American ranked the Rays’ farm system the second-best in the majors (August 2018). The organization’s seven prospects rated among the top 100 in baseball included left-hander and current .
In his final season with the Red Sox, Baseball America rated their farm system the fifth-best in the majors.
Mozeliak would not say Bloom will focus on the player development side of the organization. Bloom’s role will be somewhat “organic†and take shape of the next six weeks.
“I’m excited to join the Cardinals and to be a part of this great organization,†Bloom said in a release from the club. “Mo and his team have given me such a warm welcome, and I'm eager to build relationships here and to learn, contribute, and help us win.â€