Inside The Cardinals

Chaim Bloom’s First Big Cardinals Decisions Are Coming Soon

The St. Louis Cardinals have a few weeks to get ready for the tender deadline...
Patrick McAvoy|
Aug 28, 2022; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Chaim Bloom, Chief Baseball Officer of the Boston Red Sox on the field before the game between the Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images
Aug 28, 2022; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Chaim Bloom, Chief Baseball Officer of the Boston Red Sox on the field before the game between the Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images | Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

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St. Louis Cardinals

The Major League Baseball offseason officially is here and the St. Louis Cardinals will have a bit of time before they need to make their first big decisions.

For a good chunk of teams around the league, the first decisions that need to be made involve players with options in their contracts. Last year, the Cardinals had to decide whether to pick up club options for Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson, for example. That deadline is five days after the World Series, but the Cardinals don't have any players who fit that criteria this offseason.

So, for the Cardinals, the first big date to watch is Nov. 21st. That is the tender deadline. What that means is that the Cardinals have until Nov. 21st to give a contract to a player under team control with under six years of MLB service time. Clubs can also decide to non-tender players. In that scenario, the Cardinals could decide that it doesn't want to keep players under team control by not giving them a deal.

The Cardinals will have to make some decisions in the near future

St. Louis Cardinals hat
Sep 5, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; A detailed view of the hat and glove of St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Nolan Gorman (not pictured) before a game against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

For St. Louis, it has nine players who are arbitration-eligible: JoJo Romero, Brendan Donovan, Lars Nootbaar, Andre Pallante, Matthew Liberatore, Jorge Alcala, Nolan Gorman, Alec Burleson, and John King. The majority of guys are in pre-arbitration, including Masyn Winn, Victor Scott II, Jordan Walker, Michael McGreevy, Iván Herrera, and Matt Svanson among many others.

The first big decisions of the offseason for the Cardinals will be who they end up non-tendering -- if anyone. Technically free agency begins five days after the World Series and teams are able to start trading, but typically, the vast majority of the transactions throughout the MLB offseason don't start to pop up until around the Winter Meetings, which start Dec. 8th.

The Cardinals don't need to worry about options, but the tender deadline will be here before you know it. The offseason is here and the clock is ticking for Chaim Bloom in his first offseason as the Cardinals' president of baseball operations.

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Patrick McAvoy
PATRICK MCAVOY

Patrick McAvoy's experiences include local and national sports coverage at the New England Sports Network with a focus on baseball and basketball. Outside of journalism, Patrick also is pursuing an MBA at Brandeis University. After quickly rising as one of the most productive writers on the site, he expanded his reach to write for Baseball Essential, a national baseball site in Sports Illustrated Media Group. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Inside The Cardinals, please reach out to Scott Neville: nevilles@merrimack.edu

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