Quiet Winter Meetings for Cardinals shouldn't cause fans to distrust Chaim Bloom

The St. Louis Cardinals and president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom entered the Winter Meetings as the belle of the ball. With a willingness to trade current players for future prospects, the Cardinals were at the center of the rumor mill all week.

Brendan Donovan, JoJo Romero, Willson Contreras, Lars Nootbaar, and Nolan Gorman have all been rumored as trade candidates this offseason. The Winter Meetings in Orlando presented Bloom with a chance to sit down face-to-face with other executives and hash out deals. However, despite plenty of noise surrounding the Cardinals, Bloom exited the meetings with nary a transaction to his name.

Over the three-day period, the Cardinals made one transaction: selecting right-handed pitcher Matt Pushard in the Rule 5 Draft from the Miami Marlins. Pushard, 28, was a former undrafted signing who reached the Triple-A level last year. He posted a 3.61 ERA and a 10.54 K/9 across 62.1 innings last year.

This wasn't the big splash Cardinals fans were hoping for during the Winter Meetings.

St. Louis Cardinals fans should still hold out hope that Chaim Bloom will make the best moves for the Cardinals this offseason after a quiet Winter Meetings.

In just under two months on the job, Chaim Bloom has already instilled ample reasons for fans to trust him. From his reshaping of the player development system to the growth of the front office under him, Bloom has done nothing but give fans reason to believe that what he's doing is best for the organization. While we won't see the returns on these investments immediately, an emphasis on player development and the future will pay huge dividends down the road.

Perhaps the greatest advantage the Cardinals gained at the Winter Meetings would be knowledge. Bloom was able to meet with several other executives and gauge those clubs' interest levels in the Cardinals' veterans.

Brendan Donovan remains a wanted man. The New York Yankees, Kansas City Royals, San Francisco Giants, and Seattle Mariners remain huge players in his sweepstakes with several other clubs inquiring on the Gold Glove utility player.

Willson Contreras's market has grown since Pete Alonso signed a massive five-year deal with the Baltimore Orioles. The New York Mets are an obvious landing spot for Contreras, but he could find a home with the Houston Astros or Arizona Diamondbacks as well depending on how things shake out.

Lars Nootbaar has grown in popularity as well over the week. The New York Mets have recently been reported as suitors for Nootbaar. The Texas Rangers were once considered a trade partner. The Los Angeles Angels remain a potential landing spot for Lars Nootbaar.

JoJo Romero remains the most coveted left-handed reliever in either the trade or free agent market as well. The New York Yankees have expressed interest in him, with Derrick Goold reporting an additional 10 teams calling on the southpaw.

Bloom himself is in no rush to get a trade done either. He's waiting for the best offer to come his way before he parts with a key veteran via trade. "Everything is a phone call away," said Chaim at the Winter Meetings. "We're fortunate to have a lot of good players here, and so when you have that, there's going to be interest in those guys."

Chaim Bloom was unable to finalize any trades during MLB's Winter Meetings. This shouldn't cause fans to worry or distrust their new leader. Instead, fans should look at this as Chaim Bloom trying to milk the most he can out of his veterans in a given deal. Patience was a word we heard for years under John Mozeliak. While "urgency" may be the new buzzword for Chaim Bloom, there still needs to be a sense of patience from the Cardinal faithful. The Winter Meetings may have been quiet on the St. Louis front, but the offseason is still young.