Former Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom is soon to be back in charge in a different front office.
The 41-year-old will take over for retiring St. Louis Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak after the 2025 season. Bloom is already making moves to set up the Cards' coaching staff for his impending promotion.
St. Louis has hired former Cleveland Guardians director of player development Rob Cerfolio, a Yale graduate regarded as one of the up-and-coming minds in his field. The Guardians' recent successes prove it.
Cleveland consistently has one of the lowest payrolls in MLB — it came in at 23rd out of 30 clubs this year — but they often contend for the postseason with homegrown players carrying the squad. The Guardians only have three players acquired through free agency on their roster, and the rest were brought up in the organization.
Former Red Sox CBO Chaim Bloom already revamping Cardinals' player development program with new hire
Chaim Bloom’s first hire is in.
— Katie Woo (@katiejwoo) October 22, 2024
Rob Cerfolio, the director of player development for the Cleveland Guardians, has been hired to oversee player development for the Cardinals.https://t.co/Eplf5bRsig Cardinals to hire Guardians’ Rob Cerfolio to oversee player development: Sources
Bloom is tasked with revamping St. Louis' player development system before he takes the helm of the organization next year, much like his responsibilities with the Red Sox from 2019-23. Bloom's draft picks and player development strategies have helped lift Boston's farm system into one of the best in the league, with five current top-100 prospects brought in during his tenure.
Bloom was often used as a scapegoat for the Red Sox front office's newfound stinginess. He was hired after Dave Dombrowski's dismissal in 2019, and his budget was severely limited compared to the Sox's top-of-the-league payroll figure in 2018.
Mozeliak seems to be giving Bloom freedoms he was not afforded under John Henry and Fenway Sports Group's leadership. Red Sox fans may get a chance to see how Bloom would operate without strict spending restrictions in the coming years if all goes well with the Cardinals' rebuild.