ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - The Cardinals have had an active offseason.
On the baseball field, adding eight pitchers this offseason in an effort to rebuild a pitching staff that was one of the worst rotations in the National League last year.
They have also been active behind the scenes, adding two former Cardinals into the club again, including Yadier Molina.
Now the club have brought in a former top baseball executive into their ranks, with former Boston Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom set to join the organization as an advisor to Cardinals President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak.
“I have known Chaim for a long time, and feel that this is a great opportunity for the St. Louis Cardinals,” said Mozeliak in a press release. “It will be good to get an outside perspective of our organization from someone who is as well-respected as Chaim. Having a fresh set of eyes on all aspects of our baseball operations should be helpful.”
Bloom has been linked to the Cardinals since the early days of the off-season with MLB Network insider Peter Gammons first laying out the rumors that Bloom would come to St. Louis.
Bloom joined the Red Sox in Oct. 25, 2019, replacing World Series-winning exec Dave Dombrowski. During his four-year tenure with the Red Sox, while the team did reach an improbable ALCS run in 2021, Bloom faced a little bit of tumultuous time in Boston, with criticism aimed at how he handled the likes of trading away Mookie Betts and letting shortstop Xander Bogaerts walk in free agency.
Bloom was fired in September 2023 before a doubleheader against rivals New York Yankees as the club was set to finish last for the third time in four seasons.
During Bloom's tenure with the Red Sox, the team was essentially a .500 team with the Red Sox record being 272-262 during his time in Boston, with only one winning season.
Before joining the Red Sox, Bloom was a exec with the analytically-driven Tampa Bays Rays for 14 years. Bloom served a variety of roles, including as Director of Baseball Operations and Vice President of Baseball Operations. Some of his roles included negotiating deals, overseeing player development, and managing their baseball performance science department.
Bloom's greatest strength has been player development, particularly, developing starting pitching, with Bloom being credited for writing "Rays Way" player development handbook all the way back in 2008.