St. Louis Cardinals: Do the Cards need some ‘new blood’ in the front office?

The St. Louis Cardinals front office recently shook up the coaching staff and the roster.  Does the front office also need to add some ‘new blood’ ?

The shake up in the coaching staff and unloading some dead weight in the roster in July, seems to have revitalized the St. Louis Cardinals.  The Cardinal front office should be given credit for moving on from Mike Matheny, John Mabry, and Greg Holland, along with bringing up Dakota Hudson and Tyler O’Neill.

These changes, along with others, seemed to have help the Cardinals in their second half surge for a NL Wild Card spot.  However, does the Cardinal Front Office need a shake up also?  Do they need some ‘new blood’ going into the off-season?

Like players and coaches, there are always front office talent that becomes available during the off-season.  One name recently let major league baseball know that he would be interested pursuing other opportunities.  That name is Toronto Blue Jay VP of Player Development Ben Cherington .

Let’s look at Ben Cherington’s qualifications and see if would be attractive addition to the St. Louis Cardinals front office.

Ben Cherington

Cherington was the executive vice president and general manager of the Boston Red Sox  from October 25, 2011 to August 18, 2015.  He had succeeded Theo Epstein in that position, after Epstein resigned to become the Chicago Cubs President of Baseball Operations.

Cherington inherited a team that had collapsed in September, 2011 and fallen out for contention of the Division championship and the Wild Card slot.  Over the next two seasons, Cherington reworked the Red Sox lineup, hired John Farrell as manager in 2013, and restored Boston to an American League contender.

After finishing in last place in the AL East in 2012, the Red Sox won 97 games and won the World Series over the St. Louis Cardinals in 2013.  Cherington used a combination of free agents, along with returning healthy veterans to restore the Red Sox to supremacy.

The remarkable turnaround, however, did not last into 2014.

The Red Sox failed to sign some key free agents and fell to last place in the AL East with a 71-91 record.  In 2015, counting on a young core of players, Boston finished in last place again.  In August, 2015, the Red Sox ownership named Dave Dombrowski to President of Baseball Operations to oversee Cherington.  The club asked Cherington to stay as GM, but he resigned instead.

However, Cherington, left behind a core of young players that would help return Boston to the division championship in 2016.  This list included Xander Bogaerts, Mookie Betts, Brock Holt, Eduardo Rodriguez, Blake Swihart, Travis Shaw, Henry Owens, and Christian Vazquez among others.

Cherington and the Cardinals?

Cherington told Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, while happy in Toronto, he’s open to other opportunities.  “if something presented is presented to me, I’ll evaluate and see if it’s something I want to do.” Cafardo believes this is a shift in Cherington’s previous attitude on pursuing another position.

It appears that Cherington wants to be a GM again, and would move if the right organization approached him.  Would the St. Louis Cardinals be an organization that could draw Cherington away from Toronto?  Also, would the Cardinals be interested in bringing Cherington aboard?

I think Ben Cherington would listen to the Cardinals if they came calling.  There is no reason to think he wouldn’t.  However, Cherington’s interest would be tempered by how much power he would yield inside the Cardinals organization.

President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak is not going anywhere and is not going to share power with Cherington or anyone else.  Also, Cherington wouldn’t want to be in a secondary role as Cardinal General Manager Michael Girsch currently plays.

My Conclusion

I think it would be helpful for the St. Louis Cardinals to bring in some ‘new blood’ in the front office.  Not since 1994, when Walt Jocketty was hired as General Manager, have the Cardinals brought in someone from completely outside the organization to run the team.  Jocketty and company brought in new blood and a fresh approach the Cardinals needed at that time.

I’m not advocating the removal of John Mozeliak, however, some new voices in the organization could be what’s needed going forward.  It doesn’t have to be Cherington, but an experienced baseball executive with success with another MLB organization or organizations, could energize the front office.

This is unlikely to happen this year.  2018 seems to be the year to address the managerial and coaching issues. Nevertheless, if the Cardinals miss the postseason in 2019, change in the front office would seem to be the next step.  A Ben Cherington or someone like him, could be the next Cardinal President of Baseball Operations or GM.

Like the roster, sometimes a front office needs ‘new blood’ to bring a new perspective.

These are my thoughts.  What are yours?  Thanks for reading….and GO CARDS!