Bloom takes Cardinals helm with challenge to reignite a winning culture

In his introductory press conference as the St. Louis Cardinals’ second-ever president of baseball operations, Chaim Bloom emphasized the necessity for the team to move forward with “boldness” and “humility,” setting a standard for future success that includes the expectation of perpetual competition and a full commitment to the club’s professed values.

“We are not where our fans expect us to be, and we are not where we expect ourselves to be,” Bloom said near the outset of his nearly 10-minute opening statement. “Our goal is to field a team every year that can compete for this division and for a World Series championship.”

Whether that goal is achievable in 2026 will be determined in the coming weeks and months, but Bloom said the boldness of his vision should not be mistaken for recklessness. The team, he noted, intends to pursue roster changes in the short term “as long as they also serve our ultimate goal.”

“When we have to choose between short term gratification and our bigger goal of contending consistently,” he said, “we will choose the long term.”

One short-term decision that has been settled is the return of Oli Marmol for his fifth season as manager. Bloom did not go into specifics about his field staff during the introductory remarks, but said he “expect[s] a lot of continuity,” and Marmol—who was in attendance—remains part of that continuity.

“It’s a good group of people that really, really cares,” Bloom said. “There was a lot of adversity this year. I was in Chicago the last weekend. Those games, standings-wise, were not meaningful. You didn’t see anything waiver. You didn’t see the work waiver. You didn’t see the standard lowered. That tells you a lot, and it’s not a surprise based on getting to know this group over the past couple of years, but it’s meaningful.”

Changes, then, will continue to come through player acquisition, as the club continues a roster reboot that appears likely to affect several veteran players. Nolan Arenado has been open about his expectation that he’ll be moved, and Sonny Gray acknowledged a willingness to seek a team closer to contention. Willson Contreras was more circumspect, but he remains a trade candidate based on his career stage and the Cardinals’ trajectory toward competitiveness.

“It’s interesting,” chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. said. “I don’t think Chaim and I have even talked about payroll. He’s here to do the job, and we don’t know what our payroll is going to be. I can’t tell you right now, but we’re going to provide the resources for him to build what he’s talking about building.”

Both DeWitt Jr. and his son, team president Bill DeWitt III, cited dropping attendance and concerns about the fan experience as immediate organizational priorities. “To the extent that that’s a message, the message has been received,” DeWitt III said.

“None of us were happy with the results we had,” DeWitt Jr. added. “Our goal is always to get into the playoffs, and we’ve done it for many, many years. So our goals have been reached a majority of the time. We’re not there now, and we haven’t been for a couple years. So, you know, I understand their frustration.

“They love the Cardinals. They love the Cardinals winning. As I said, we have a history of winning, and we’re going to make every effort to get back to that.”

Next season will be Bloom’s first under a five-year deal signed at the conclusion of 2024. It gives him both security and time to make the necessary changes that will allow the Cardinals to build the robust player development operation the franchise has long touted as the heart of its identity.

Two years spent auditing and assisting on the player development side have given Bloom a foundation on which to build. He may also have unprecedented insight into the club’s operations before taking the helm, as DeWitt acknowledged Bloom joined the organization in 2023—months before his hire was formally announced. That move was intended to allow Bloom’s outside experience and principles to be absorbed within a consistent Cardinals environment.

It is possible the club wins fewer games in 2026 than it did in 2025 in pursuit of a long-term vision. The broader planning is meant to mitigate those concerns and provide stability to an organization that, at its core, resists the dramatic ups and downs that dictate cycles elsewhere in baseball.

Bloom drew a rhetorical line from Branch Rickey to George Kissell to Whitey Herzog to the DeWitt family, emphasizing tradition and presenting coming changes as a natural evolution rather than a revolution.

“This organization at its best sets the standard for the rest of baseball,” he said. “That’s our legacy here. That’s who we are at our best. We set the standard, and the standard is always changing. It means something different in 2025 than it meant in 1925 or in 1965 or 2005, and it’s going to mean something different in 2035.

“So now we get to do it again.”

This story was originally published September 30, 2025 at 12:21 PM.