Several Cardinals front office stalwarts could be on borrowed time

The St. Louis Cardinals long prided themselves on being ahead of the curve. They frequently cited "The Cardinal Way" as their secret to their extended run of success, but to continue their winning methods, the Cardinals had to hold their cards close to their chest. Members of the front office were promoted from within, and the organization rarely ventured outside for voices.

Although the Cardinals' insular method worked for many years, the sport eventually passed the team by. The Cardinals finally acknowledged that fact after the 2024 season and began hiring personnel from more progressive organizations. The most noteworthy of these hires was Chaim Bloom, who is poised to ascend to John Mozeliak's current position as president of baseball operations in 2026.

The question looms of whether much of the staff from the Mozeliak era will remain with the Cardinals or if Bloom plans to clean house and hire those with whom he is more familiar.

A precursor to a potential front office shake-up might have occurred at the end of 2024, when Mozeliak removed General Manager Michael Girsch from his position and appointed him as the vice president of special projects. With no general manager on staff, the role could go to one of the current assistant general managers: Moises Rodriguez, Randy Flores or Rob Cerfolio. However, Bloom could be more inclined to hire one of his subordinates from his old stomping grounds in Boston or Tampa Bay.

Bloom's cutting-edge approach to analytics might not jibe with many current members of the Cardinals' front office, and that extends to the team's drafting philosophy. The Cardinals and Flores, who is also the director of scouting, have long selected college arms that pitched to contact high in the draft. But as Miles Mikolas showed in 2024, letting batters hit the ball and hoping for soft contact is no longer a viable way to succeed.

If the Cardinals are going to change their drafting priorities, Bloom may decide that the team needs to replace Flores with a director of scouting who is more adept at identifying young talent that fits the team's new approach.

Mozeliak's current "special assistants" could also be on thin ice. The group includes Willie McGee, Yadier Molina and Joe McEwing, but it doesn't appear to be a high priority for the team given the layoffs of other former Cardinals who held the role, including Chris Carpenter, Jim Edmonds, Ryan Ludwick and Jason Isringhausen. If Bloom decides to trim the fat, McGee, Molina and McEwing could all be saying goodbye after 2025.

Bloom's duty will be to reconstruct a collapsed empire, and many of those who oversaw the toppling of a titan remain in their posts. 2025 will be a transition year for the Cardinals, and a full-scale facelift of the front office could commence in 2026.