The Cardinals would need to tread carefully with Chaim Bloom

The St. Louis Cardinals are in dire need of a fresh perspective in their pitching department, and there have been rumblings that they are interested in bringing in Chaim Bloom, the former Chief Baseball Officer for the Boston Red Sox. Before landing in Boston, Bloom was the Senior Vice President of Baseball Operations for the Tampa Bay Rays, who were among the most innovative teams in baseball during his tenure. The Rays were especially transcendent in how they evaluated and developed pitching, and that would likely be Bloom's primary role if the Cardinals were to hire him.

While Bloom could be extremely valuable in his input on the pitching side, the Cardinals shouldn't put him in a role that expands beyond that.

Bloom's time with the Red Sox was rocky; this article breaks down eight moves (or lack thereof) that purportedly led to Bloom's dismissal, including trading Mookie Betts for an underwhelming return and allowing Xander Bogaerts to become a free agent, replacing him with Trevor Story in what has turned out to be a disastrous signing. While Bloom had the reputation of being a pitching guru in Tampa Bay, his flaws were exposed when he moved to a higher role in Boston.

Bloom's conservative choices at the trade deadline for the Red Sox the past two seasons were not received kindly by the Boston faithful, and he shouldn't persuade the Cardinals front office to stand pat at the deadline. The Cardinals are already known as a risk-averse organization, and input from Bloom on the trades and signings front would likely reinforce that philosophy.

Bloom is also not as familiar with the organization as John Mozeliak and company. Mozeliak might receive warranted criticism, but he knows the Cardinals' strengths and their flaws and is thus far more in tune with what the Cardinals' long-term plan is and what they need to do to achieve it.

While Bloom may possess extensive knowledge on pitching and how to develop it, he shouldn't be trusted to make sweeping changes in areas where he might have less expertise, such as in developing offense, where the Cardinals have been quite successful. The idea has been thrown around that Bloom could succeed Mozeliak as President of Baseball Operations after the latter's contract expires after 2025, but it would be a risky venture given Bloom's ill-fated time in Boston.

The Cardinals would be smart to hire Bloom and put him in a role where he has proven that he flourishes, but giving him too much of a say in decisions beyond pitching development could be a colossal mistake.