Bloom to succeed Mozeliak as Cards' head of baseball ops after '25 season

John Mozeliak, who guided the Cardinals to a 2011 World Series win and oversaw a sustained run of success before falling off the pace the past two seasons, will remain in his position as president of baseball operations for the final year of his contract, but many of his duties will be shifted elsewhere in 2025.

Manager Oliver Marmol, who led the Cardinals to 93 wins and an NL Central crown in 2022 before missing the playoffs the past two seasons, will also return in 2025.

Former Rays GM and Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom, who has worked with the Cardinals as an advisor since January, will oversee a reset of the player development system in 2025, according to chairman Bill DeWitt II. Bloom will then succeed Mozeliak as the next Cardinals president of baseball operation after the '25 season. He has agreed to a five-year contract, DeWitt said.

He will be charged with revamping a farm system that has grown sporadic in producing difference-making talent for the big league club in recent years. Bloom, who evaluated every level of the Minor League system -- even the Dominican Summer League -- spent most of this season evaluating prospects and advising the staff on player acquisitions. He is expected to have the final say on the hiring of a new director of player development following the Sept. 6 retirement of Gary LaRocque.

Marmol, who signed a two-year contract extension in Spring Training that runs through 2026, is excited about a future where the Cardinals lean heavily on their young core of Masyn Winn, Brendan Donovan, Alec Burleson, Jordan Walker, Nolan Gorman, Andre Pallante, Michael McGreevy, Matthew Liberatore and Ryan Fernandez in '25.

“We need to build this group up and get them ready to go on a real run and not just compete every now and then and make the playoffs every other year,” Marmol said on Sunday after a 6-1 win over the Giants made the Cardinals 83-79 for the season. “This is a group that we need to come together and continue to develop. It’s a young group, but it’s a good group. At the end of the day, I think there’s a bright future ahead.”

Mozeliak’s reassigned duties come on the heels of the Cardinals finishing 71-91 in 2023 and failing to reach the postseason this past season despite feverish attempts to restock the pitching staff with veterans. Mozeliak, 55, has said repeatedly that he has no intention of staying in his current role beyond the expiration of his contract following the 2025 season.

Much of Mozeliak’s responsibilities in the coming months will be helping the Cardinals trim some of their payroll and long-term contracts via trades as they shift their focus more toward their young core of players. Highly paid veterans such as Nolan Arenado, Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras and Ryan Helsley could be moved. Having selected coveted hitter JJ Wetherholt (St. Louis' No. 1 prospect, MLB No. 16) at No. 7 in the 2024 MLB Draft, the Cardinals will have another high Draft pick in '25.

While the Cardinals aren’t expected to pick up the $12 million club options for veteran pitchers Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson, the club does have a strong interest in trying to retain free agents Paul Goldschmidt and relievers Andrew Kittredge and Keynan Middleton because of their abilities as leaders for the young core.

Mozeliak, MLB.com’s Executive of the Year in 2011, helped the Cardinals become one of the NL’s most consistently dominant and model franchises after becoming the club’s general manager after the 2007 season. His time in charge was highlighted by the Cardinals' ability to pluck stars Matt Holliday, Lance Berkman, Goldschmidt and Arenado from cost-cutting teams to keep their contending status in the NL alive. He also played a major role in St. Louis reacquiring likely future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols in 2022 and paving the way for him to reach 703 career home runs while wearing a Cardinals uniform for a second time.

Goldschmidt, who is about to become a free agent for the first time in his career, said he would be open to a return to the Cardinals, but that a variety of factors would play into where he plays next season. Goldschmidt, 37, first told MLB.com in mid-August that he would not be retiring and intended to play again in 2025. Playing for a team that can compete for a World Series crown next season appeals greatly to the seven-time All-Star and 2022 NL MVP.