Can Bloom win fans’ trust before the rebuilt Cardinals win games?
Chaim Bloom’s job could be much simpler.
Tasked with reconstructing both the minor league system and the major league roster of the St. Louis Cardinals, the version of Bloom free to focus solely on cold roster calculus—shifting players around like digits on a spreadsheet—would be able to move with ruthless precision and absolute efficiency.
For the Cardinals’ new president of baseball operations, though, reality is more complicated.
If he is correct that the club does not intend to concede anything, it is in part because there are 81 home games on the 2026 schedule for which tickets must be sold, and the Cardinals are coming off Major League Baseball’s most dramatic drop in home attendance. In a city renowned for being baseball-mad, that strikes at the heart of the organization as much as it does the pocketbook.
“It’s very important to be incredibly clear and open about what we’re trying to do and why,” Bloom said Wednesday in Orlando at the conclusion of the Rule 5 Draft and the MLB Winter Meetings. “I think we have a really, really good fan base that is locked in on this team. They’re smart, and the worst thing we could do would be to be unclear with them about what we’re trying to do, trying to deceive people. That’s not going to help.
“The other thing I believe, and this has been strengthened by the chance that I’ve had the last year-plus to really be around this organization, I understand that people, maybe one year they come to the ballpark, one year they don’t, but caring about this team, being a fan of this team, loving this organization, there is not an on-off switch that Cardinals fans have for that. They are in this. Our duty is to them, to match that with…how we go about our work, to bring a work product, even if it’s a nondescript day at the office, to get after it on that day in a way that they deserve as our fans.”
One of the benefits of significant transition—a process the Cardinals dragged out and delayed for years even as it became clear, both inside and outside the organization, that change was absolutely necessary—is that it comes with a boost of credibility. Whatever his degree of true sincerity behind those sentiments, Bloom arrived in his position with a more or less clean slate that only lasts for a finite period.
He will only once have the chance to disappoint fans in St. Louis for the first time. And he will inevitably do so; that is the reality of the job. Trading Sonny Gray after his two seasons as a Cardinal was met with acceptance bordering on indifference, as befits the larger public sentiment around the club. Whether that lack of disappointment survives the winter will tell an interesting story about what fans in St. Louis will and will not tolerate.
Interest around Brendan Donovan and JoJo Romero is high enough that trades of both appear to be fait accompli. Bloom joked Wednesday that he wished he hadn’t opened the door to power ranking his players when asked which was more popular around the league. There is a renewed focus on moving on from Nolan Arenado, though that process may be slowed by the free agent market and available roster spots.
Another strong trade possibility: first baseman Willson Contreras, who has drawn interest from the New York Mets as they come to grips with the reality that longtime slugger Pete Alonso could depart, according to two sources. With two years, plus a team option year and just over $40 million remaining on his contract, Contreras is an appealing target for a Mets team desperate to add both splash and thump to its lineup.
Those around the Cardinals believe New York would be an appealing destination for Contreras, who holds a no-trade clause and has previously said he prefers to remain in St. Louis for the duration of his deal but would consider options if presented.
Mets baseball chief David Stearns formerly held the same role in Milwaukee, where he was regularly exposed to Contreras during his time with the Chicago Cubs. Stearns was in an advisory role with the Brewers when his protégé, now-president and general manager Matt Arnold, completed a trade with Atlanta for Contreras’ younger brother, William.
It is not the likeliest outcome, but there are realistic scenarios in which every player the Cardinals have under contract who has reached his second year of arbitration eligibility could be traded this winter.
That is a drastic, severe cut to an underperforming roster that may be necessary but is still tough to swallow. The reality of the industry is that even the most passionate fans do not always follow the ins and outs of roster construction, and it will be jarring to see many familiar names depart.
That is the nuance of Bloom’s task and part of his responsibility to the broader organization, not just the team on the field. That is what he must sell.
“Because I believe that fandom’s not something that turns on and off, I’d rather just be really clear, really pretty strong with what we’re trying to do, and trust that our fan base is going to be there,” he said.
This is his chance to be believed. He won’t get a second shot. He can’t miss.
