Chaim Bloom's long-term goals for the Cardinals don't have room for this year's trade rumors

We are over six weeks from the August 3rd trade deadline. If you are like me, you can’t wait. While reading all the sites that cover Major League Baseball regularly, including this one, you may think that after the deadline, the Cardinals will have an incredible team. A World Series-worthy team. If the rumors (made-up stuff) come true, the Cardinals will have Matt Chapman at third base, Rafael Devers on first, Byron Buxton in the outfield, and some combination of Joe Ryan, Reid Detmers, Jose Soriano, Michael Wacha, Robbie Ray, and/or Jeffrey Springs on the mound.  

Can we please stop?

I understand that Cardinal fans are eager for playoff baseball again. I understand the Cardinals are maybe early in the rebuild, but they are still not ready for a World Series run. 

Chaim Bloom sought to shift the team’s mindset away from constantly chasing a playoff spot upon his arrival. The goal for most top teams is to chase a World Series championship, not just to make the playoffs. The team made trades in the past that weakened the farm teams and only made the team good enough to get in but not make a serious run. 

Chaim Bloom is not this type of Cardinals executive

Bloom’s history tells us this is not what he is about. During his first full year in Boston in 2021, they assigned him the task of upgrading the farm system. Sound familiar? The team that year surprised everyone by surpassing expectations and was in a playoff race at the deadline. This also sounds familiar. He landed Kyle Schwarber but only had to give up a 16th-ranked prospect. In 2022, they were just out of the wild card spot, but he acquirec Eric Hosmer and two decent minor league players for a pitching prospect, and the Padres picked up almost all of Hosmer’s salary. He also traded Christian Vázquez to Houston for two prospects, Wilyer Abreu and Enmanuel Valdez.

Even with those teams in the hunt for a playoff spot, he wasn’t about to sacrifice the future for a one-year run just to get into the playoffs. 

It’s fun to speculate on the Cardinals being buyers at the deadline, but you have to think about what that really means. If they try to trade for Reid Detmers, then what does that really look like? He is a good pitcher, the right age, and has two years of control left. The Marlins’ recent trade of Ryan Weathers to the Yankees was the last instance of a pitcher with this profile changing teams. They got four prospects. Edward Cabrera’s trade to the Cubs resulted in the Marlins gaining three more prospects, with Owen Caissie being the most notable.  

One proposal I’ve seen for Detmers was to the White Sox for SS Billy Carlson, RHP Mathias Lacombe, and C Fernando Graterol. All prospects, ranked as the White Sox's number five, number 16, and number 25. For the Cardinals to offer the same would be Leo Bernal, Cooper Hjerpe, and Blaze Jordan. That would be fine if this one move put us in the World Series. It won’t. 

This is the year that we need to see what pieces Chaim Bloom has to work with. Not half a year. More trades will occur during the offseason, and perhaps a bigger one may happen before next year’s trade deadline. 

This is not the time to undermine the great work Bloom has done to this point by having the fans screaming for a trade that puts us right back where we were the last couple of years. 

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