The Cardinals are making strides in their staff upheaval

The St. Louis Cardinals are resetting. No, they're retooling. No, it's a youth movement. Whatever you want to call it, the Cardinals are embarking on a massive organizational shake-up in an attempt to position themselves as World Series contenders.

John Mozeliak appointed Chaim Bloom to serve as the president of baseball operations for 2026 and beyond to provide a forward-thinking vision for the team, and while his hiring has received the lion's share of attention around the Cardinals fanbase, the club has also shrewdly plucked some staff members away from analytically driven teams, providing hope that their insight can help the Cardinals correct what has gone awry.

The Cardinals' pitching development has lagged far behind that of nearly every other team, and in 2023, the Cardinals finally woke up to the fact that the ability to miss bats is crucial in today's brand of baseball. The team subsequently hired Rob Cerfolio as their assistant general manager of player development and performance. Cerfolio arrived from the Cleveland Guardians, the club that MLB Pipeline voted in 2023 as the best at developing pitchers.

Cerfolio was the director of player development in Cleveland from 2022 to 2024 and oversaw a massive improvement in their farm system. Prior to the 2023 campaign, the Guardians shot up from 12th in farm system rankings to fourth, and while prospect graduations pushed them down to 19th before 2024, the team's strong minor league performance propelled them to fourth again in the middle of last season.

The Cardinals weren't finished rummaging around Cleveland's closet, as they hired Larry Day as their farm director. Day worked under Cerfolio with the Guardians and will replace the retiring Gary LaRocque. By snagging two of the brains behind a cutting-edge developmental powerhouse, the Cardinals will hopefully see massive improvement in the progression of their minor league players.

Another hire who will report to Cerfolio is Matt Pierpont, who will take over as the Cardinals' director of pitching. Pierpont, who was the minor league pitching coordinator for the pitching-rich Seattle Mariners, worked to develop highly touted arms such as George Kirby, Bryan Woo and Bryce Miller. Seattle ranked atop the major leagues in fewest hits and walks allowed per nine innings in 2024.

The Cardinals also brought in Carl Kochan to serve in a newly created role, the director of performance. Kochan worked for the Los Angeles Dodgers as a minor league coordinator for strength and conditioning for six years after serving in the role in a major league capacity with the San Francisco Giants for seven seasons. In 2016, Kochan received recognition as MLB's Strength Coach of the Year.

The Cardinals look to be emerging from the dark ages in their approach to player development. These hires from esteemed organizations should incite confidence among Cardinals fans that the team is on the right track toward competing for a title within a few seasons.