5 burning questions facing the St. Louis Cardinals as their rebuild gets underway

2. Will Chaim Bloom make major shifts to the Cardinals' front office and on-field personnel heading into 2026?

The question that has been on Cardinals fans' minds ever since the organization's end-of-season press conference following the 2024 season was when exactly Chaim Bloom would be taking over. They knew he officially took on the title after the 2025 season, but like, when was he really taking over?

Mozeliak was asked that question once again by KMOX's Tom Ackerman on Sunday, and Mozeliak began to tease out some of the things that Bloom will be running point on for now on, and that list will continue to grow until Mozeliak is officially done with his role.

This month, Bloom is likely to lead the Cardinals through their strategic planning cycle, begin the process of extending or letting go of personnel on expiring deals, and then also start any searches they may have for openingss they currently have, like the GM role that Mozeliak is filling this year after Michael Girsch was removed from that role, as well as any new positions they create or roles they need to fill that they decide needs a new voice in that seat.

As September rolls around and then eventually October, Bloom will be the one implementing these changes beyond 2026, leading the club's offseason planning, and then beginning to execute those plays when the time comes. I am sure he will have input as well on whether or not certain prospects get playing time in St. Louis down the stretch in order to get an eye on the talent that is coming.

Last offseason, Bloom began to make pretty significant changes to the Cardinals' front office, as long-time player development director, Gary LaRoque, retired and was replaced by new assistant general manager Rob Cerfolio, and then both Cerfolio and Bloom made a variety of hires on the player development side of things from organizations like the Guardians, Mariners, Dodgers, and more.

Who will Bloom decide to make his general manager? Will that be an internal hire or another external addition? Will Bloom make any changes to other assistant general manager roles, like Randy Flores or Moises Rodriguez? Will any changes come to any other departments like analytics, systems, video and technology, medical, scouts, performance, or others?

What about on-field staff? Do changes come to the Major League coaching staff this offseason? Are there any shake-ups at the minor league levels? Bloom could be quick and swift to reset the decks in a variety of areas, or he may desire to see some continuity with things he's already been helping build over the last two years.