Chaim Bloom is Right About Cardinals' Joshua Báez Decision

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Joshua Báez was becoming the story of major league spring training camp, but then he had to pack his bags.

On Monday, hours after Báez hit his third home run in as many games in big-league camp, the Cardinals optioned the 23-year-old to Triple-A, which meant reassigning him to minor-league camp for the final 2 1/2 weeks before the regular season.

While Báez certainly looked the part of a major leaguer, president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom just delivered the perfect explanation of why sending him to the minors to begin the season wasn't just the right choice, but the obvious one.

If you like our content, choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google.

Cardinals have to avoid temptation for 'instant gratification'

Jul 27, 2022; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom talks with the media before a game against the Cleveland Guardians at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images | Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

On Tuesday, Bloom discussed the decision to use the first of Báez's three options, despite a thin outfield depth chart at the major league level. And first, he made it clear that Báez's great spring performance hadn't been in vain.

“He already had a lot of admirers in this organization, and now he has a few more,” Bloom said, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “Nothing but good things to say about what he did here. Aside from the obvious — the big homers — the work he put in and the way he went about it.

Bloom then hit the nail on the head in terms of the proper way to maximize this team's future. Putting Báez on the opening day roster, even if it would help the Cardinals get an extra win or two in April, would be a loss in the long run if he hadn't received the proper amount of minor-league seasoning.

“Everything we’re doing with these guys at Triple-A, it’s still about the major-league club,” Bloom said, per Goold. “It’s just not taking a shortcut to the instant gratification over helping a player reach his ceiling.

"Ultimately, we’re going to get where we want to go if we can help as many players as possible to that ceiling, and we owe it to ourselves and them to make sure what that is and not take shortcuts for the sake of expedience, for the sake of a need today that might not serve the organization.

Báez has yet to appear in a single game at Triple-A, and he's only seen 79 at Double-A. When he's checked that final box and looks confident enough to progress to facing major league pitching, Cardinals fans should have faith that Bloom will pull the trigger.