Bloom spent the most of his professional career with the Tampa Bay Rays organization until joining the Red Sox front office in 2019 as the team’s chief baseball officer. After two seasons of big league failure, the Red Sox boast one of the greatest farm systems in baseball thanks to Bloom’s thorough rebuilding of the organization.
Incorporating Bloom in some way would be a wise decision. Anything could help, as the Cardinals suffered one of their worst seasons ever in 2023. Despite being let go by the Red Sox, Bloom enjoyed success with the Rays and did steer the team in the right path. Why not offer him a position as a consultant?
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At the GM meetings on Monday, John Mozeliak, the president of baseball operations for the Cardinals, had a conversation with reporters, including John Denton of MLB.com, about what to expect in the upcoming offseason. He talked about the team’s 2024 budget and hinted at his intentions to change the starting lineup. The executive also addressed inquiries regarding reports of a possible front office position for former Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom, as well as questions regarding a coaching position for Yadier Molina.
It’s undeniable that the Cardinals need to spend in free agency if they want to compete in 2024 after concluding the 2023 season with a 71-91 record, good for last place in the NL Central. However, Mozeliak stated that the club intends to be “prudent” with their expenses, so that doesn’t mean they will spend carelessly. To be more precise, he clarified that the Cardinals will probably operate next season with a payroll akin to what they had intended to run this past season before offloading a number of veterans before the trade deadline. According to Denton, that indicates they will have roughly $44MM to deal with this winter; however, it stands to reason that they might be ready to spend a little bit more for the right player. After all, occasionally
Starting pitching is the Cardinals’ top goal, and they have good reason to say so. Their starting rotation had the second-lowest strikeout rate and the third-worst ERA in the National League after Jack Flaherty and Jordan Montgomery were traded during the deadline. Their metrics only got worse.
Mozeliak announced in August that he intended to add three new starters during the offseason. On Monday, he essentially reiterated that stance, adding, though, that he is seeking “someone that can maybe split roles” in addition to two full-time starts. Miles Mikolas and Steven Matz, two seasoned pitchers, are already scheduled to play for the Cardinals in 2024. In addition, they have a number of gifted young players on the bench, such as Michael McGreevy and Gordon Graceffo, trade deadline acquisition Drew Rom, and past first-round picks Zack Thompson and Matthew Liberatore. Mozeliak is expecting that at least a couple of those pitchers will pitch “meaningful” big league innings in 2024, even though none of them are nearly ready to be trusted with a spot on the starting staff on Opening Day.
Though it’s uncommon that the Cardinals would have too much pitching depth, they could find themselves in a stalemate in the rotation if they sign three legitimate starters this winter. Their young arms would get fewer opportunities as a result, and the Cardinals won’t jeopardize the rotation’s long-term prospects in 2024.
In light of this, it seems sense that Mozeliak is interested in bringing in a hybrid starter/reliever who would be able to pitch in the rotation when necessary but step aside with ease if a more capable pitcher forced the issue. Among the arms that suit that description, Nick Martinez is the most fascinating. Michael Lorenzen, Sean Manaea, Jakob Junis, and Alex Wood are other choices that are available.
