Cardinals ownership can learn 3 lessons from the Phillies' long rebuild to prominence

Letting your head of baseball operations work freely

It's well known throughout the baseball industry that Dave Dombrowski, the Phillies' president of baseball operations since 2021, is one of baseball's most active heads of baseball operations.

Since joining the Phillies, he's done more minor trades including one to acquire outfielder Brandon Marsh in 2022 and another for former Cardinal Edmundo Sosa in 2022. Last December, Dombrowski acquired starting pitcher Jesus Luzardo for some prospects, and he also picked up reliever Carlos Estevez at the 2024 deadline to bolster the club's bullpen.

Dombrowski's biggest deals since joining the Phillies came at this year's trade deadline. He acquired reliever Jhoan Duran, one of the best closers in baseball, for two of the organization's top prospects. He also brought in outfielder Harrison Bader to provide some roster depth.

Chaim Bloom will take over as the Cardinals' president of baseball operations at the end of the 2025 season. Historically, Bloom has made trades that were forced by ownership. He's most known for the trade that sent star outfielder Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Alex Verdugo, Jeter Downs, and Connor Wong. That trade was a flop, but it was spurred by an ownership group wanting to slash payroll.

Bloom was not the Tampa Bay Rays' general manager, but he still played a part in the Rays' operations as vice president of baseball operations. The Rays mostly traded away players as they entered their final years of team control. They traded starting pitcher Chris Archer in 2018, outfielder Wil Myers in 2014, and starting pitcher David Price in 2014.

The bulk of Bloom's activity via trade has revolved around trading away players rather than acquiring them. This is mostly due to the nature of the organizations he was with. The Rays have always been one of the lowest-spending teams in baseball. When Bloom joined the Red Sox, one of his first tasks was to cut payroll.

Sadly, he'll have to do the same in his first offseason as the Cardinals' POBO. Nolan Arenado will probably have to be traded this winter. Sonny Gray could be moved as well to clear payroll space. With the DeWitt family's demands to continue to reduce salary commitments, don't expect Chaim Bloom to acquire big-name players. Instead, he'll have to be wily with his trades.

One of the club's left-handed hitters will be moved. Bloom could win the trade by finding a viable starting pitcher in return. Winning in trades will help bring fans back to Busch Stadium. The departure of John Mozeliak alone might be enough to bring a few fans back.