Chaim Bloom's absence from Winter Warm-Up reflects poorly on the Cardinals

Fans and media convened at Busch Stadium for the St. Louis Cardinals' 2025 Winter Warm-Ups to have a chance to ask questions to members of the team and the front office. But while John Mozeliak, Oli Marmol, Bill DeWitt Jr. and Bill DeWitt III were present to field attendees' queries, one voice was noticeably lacking.

Chaim Bloom, who will take over for Mozeliak in 2026 as the Cardinals' president of baseball operations, was not at the three-day event. Bloom was hired to oversee the revamp of the Cardinals' minor league development, which has fallen behind that of other teams over the past several seasons.

Cardinals fans deserve to hear from Chaim Bloom as he plans for the future

Although Bloom has not yet taken the reins from Mozeliak, 2025 will be a crucial year, as Bloom is currently tasked with determining the Cardinals' trajectory for future seasons. Mozeliak has put the youth movement in motion, but in 2026, Bloom will be responsible for ensuring that the young players coalesce into a strong core for the next competitive Cardinals squad.

Without Bloom at the podium to take questions, the Winter Warm-Ups aren't going to leave fans fully satisfied that the Cardinals will be on the right track in 2026 and beyond. Mozeliak, Marmol and the DeWitts may have been able to give short-term answers to the team for the upcoming season, but nobody was available to provide details of how the development system is being overhauled and what will change regarding how players are instructed throughout the minor leagues.

The Cardinals have stumbled repeatedly over the past two seasons with public relations and communication with fans, and the front office's refusal to own up to its mistakes has left many fans bitter and resentful. It's more important than anytime in the past 20-plus years for the Cardinals to be frank and honest with fans, but Bloom's absence is another example of the Cardinals seemingly failing to realize or simply not caring about what its paying customers truly want to know.

Entering 2025, the Cardinals have one clear-cut objective: Fix what's gone rotten down on the farm. When the person spearheading that operation isn't available to provide any insight, it's difficult to have faith that the organization is headed in the right direction.