Cardinals Insider Outlines Chaim Bloom's Plan As Rebuild Begins

Here is what Chaim Bloom is planning for the Cardinals.

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

The St. Louis Cardinals have officially introduced Chaim Bloom as their new president of baseball operations, marking the start of a new era after the departure of John Mozeliak. They finished 2025 with a 78-84 record and fell short of the postseason for the third consecutive year. Now, the work begins to rebuild the Cardinals and set themselves up for future success.

Firstly, however, they will have to trade some players away and get younger for the future. The Cardinals at least stayed competitive in the National League Wild Card race this year, but they still fell short in the end.

Katie Woo of The Athletic recently outlined Bloom's plan and how the Cardinals want to do more in the future than just contend for the third Wild Card spot.

Cardinals Insider Shares Chaim Bloom's Plan

Nov 13, 2019; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom speaks with members of the media during general managers meetings at the Omni Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Montelucia Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images | Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

"The Cardinals don't want to contend that way anymore. Ownership, the new front office wants to make the Cardinals legitimate contenders, like the status of the Phillies and the Dodgers, just obviously not to that level of market size or payroll," Woo said on Monday.

"But they don't want the goal to be the Wild Card participation trophy that the Cardinals have had since 2020. They want it to be National League pennant, minimum. Back to when the Cardinals in the 2010s were doing Cardinal things. That's what they want to return the level of contention to."

It's clear that the Cardinals don't want to just sneak into the playoffs anymore and would rather build a true contender. A perfect example of how they can do this without spending a ton on player payroll is how the Milwaukee Brewers operate.

They are a small-market team and have drafted and developed well for years. They also won 97 games and had the best record in Major League Baseball this year.

Unfortunately, things may get worse before they get better in St. Louis. Players will likely be traded away, and 2026 might be a rough year in terms of what the record looks like. But the time has come for St. Louis to change its ways and try and build a true contender in the next few seasons.

It will be interesting to see how Bloom goes about rebuilding this offseason and what the 2026 roster will ultimately look like when all is said and done.

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