Chaim Bloom and Oli Marmol may have different visions for the Cardinals’ lineup

One of the biggest debates among those who follow the St. Louis Cardinals early in the 2026 season was whether or not Blaze Jordan was a viable option at third base. As Nolan Gorman sank deeper and deeper into his struggles, Cardinals fans wanted to see Jordan get his shot, and yet the Cardinals seemed reluctant.

The biggest disconnect, at least for a bit, was the reports that the Cardinals did not see Jordan as a Major League-caliber defensive third baseman, and while they liked what he was doing with his bat, they did not think he was a viable option at the hot corner. And then something changed.

The Cardinals changed their tune, and soon after, Jordan was starting games at third base in St. Louis.

For a while now, the prevailing thought has been that Bloom, among others in the Cardinals brass, was a supporter of seeing what Jordan could do in St. Louis, even with some concerns regarding how he would fare there defensively. While Jordan didn't knock anyone's socks off with his production this year, he was far better defensively than many said he would be, and thus he is now in the conversation for a role at third base in 2027.

Recently, Chaim Bloom appeared on the Seeing Red podcast hosted by Bernie Miklasz and Will Leitch, and in that episode, he spoke about how someone like Jesus Baez is a legit option to play shortstop in the future despite his stockier build.

Similar to Jordan, Bloom referenced Baez's hands as a big reason why he can handle the position better than people would think, and it has certainly raised questions about whether or not the Cardinals could opt for the offensive upside of Baez over Masyn Winn's incredible defense at shortstop over the next year or two.

That feels like quite the pivot from what we've seen under manager Oliver Mamol's leadership as of late, and frankly, how the Cardinals have viewed constructing their rosters in general. For a while now, the Cardinals have prioritized defense, whether it's at third base, catcher, center field, shortstop, or anywhere on the diamond. And yet, in 2026, the Cardinals let Ivan Herrera attempt to catch again in spite of clear weaknesses he has there.

Could we be seeing a difference in philopsophy and ideology playing out before our very eyes?

There may be a clash of ideologies coming for the Cardinals

I'm not trying to act like Bloom couldn't care less about defense or Marmol doesn't value offensive production, but it does appear that the two may differ on how much they value one versus the other, and that will make for some really interesting decisions over the coming years.

Look no further than Winn and Nathan Church for how this could become a very real topic very soon. As I already touched on, Winn is someone the Cardinals may feel like they can upgrade over with a Baez, and yet we all know how much Marmol loves Winn and what he provides defensively. Will he be a fan of moving on from someone like Winn in favor of Baez if that is what Bloom and the front office prefer?

Or look at Nathan Church, who Marmol is also a huge fan of, like he was Victor Scott II and Michael Siani. Defense, defense, and more defense. How would he feel about Tai Peete or Josiah Ragsdale playing out in center, both of whom could have the chops to handle the position but are not top-level defenders like those three previous center fielders have been? Heck, would Bloom even be open to letting Joshua Baez play some center field in different situations to open spots up in the lineup? That could be a way to get Ivan Herrera more at-bats in left field moving forward when, say, a lefty is on the mound?

These are a lot of hypotheticals and what-ifs, so we don't actually have to go down those rabbit holes fully yet, but it is difficult not to wonder how Bloom and Marmol may differ on said values. The Cardinals sure do have some exciting offensive talents making their way up, and those players may challenge the Cardinals' past desire to keep defense a top priority at various positions.

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