Bloom, who previously served as the chief baseball officer for the Boston Red Sox, is officially at the helm in St. Louis, tasked with turning around an organization that has missed the playoffs three years in a row.

The St. Louis Cardinals officially welcomed in Chaim Bloom as the organization's next president of baseball operations on Tuesday.

Bloom was already in the organization and was largely involved in the day-to-day running of the team, but it was known that he would assume the title after the 2025 season. So, here we are.

An Ivy League product, Bloom came up with the Tampa Bay Rays before getting hired to run the Boston Red Sox after the 2019 season. Boston let him go before the 2024 campaign after they failed to make the playoffs in 2022 and 2023 - earning last-place finishes in the American League East each year. They also finished last in the COVID 2020 season, though they did make the American League Championship Series in 2021.

An unfair shake in Boston

There were a few things working against Bloom, which made his tenure there an uphill battle.

1) Bloom assumed the job for the 2020 season and then immediately had to deal with Alex Cora being suspended for the year because of the Astros' sign-stealing scandal.

2) The Red Sox made it known that after winning the World Series in 2018, and running a major payroll, they were hoping to curb spending and develop prospects. Bloom was essentially forced to trade Mookie Betts for a subpar return of Alex Verdugo, Jeter Downs and Connor Wong. It helped save money and assured the team wouldn't lose him for nothing. Even though it was basically an ownership directive, Bloom was blamed for trading Betts.

3) The ownership group loved Cora, bringing him back once his suspension was over in 2021. From that point forward, it was clear that Bloom was going to draw the short end of the stick.

4) Bloom did basically what the organization asked, reduce spending while developing prospects. It's a hard needle to thread, and it's unfair to lose your job for doing exactly what they asked.

5) It's not Bloom's fault that Chris Sale, the team's ace, missed all of 2020 and then a large portion of 2021-2023 as well.

Moves that didn't work

Despite doing what ownership asked, the Red Sox still did finish last three times in four years, and some moves from Bloom certainly didn't help.

1) He traded Hunter Renfroe, who had a 31-homer season in 2021, for a headline return of Jackie Bradley Jr., who didn't finish the 2022 season with Boston.

2) He traded former All-Star Andrew Benintendi for a headline return of Franchy Cordero, who hasn't played in the majors in each of the last two years.

3) The Betts trade, although understandable, was a disaster, with Wong the only one still in the organization. He's now a backup catcher.

4) The organization let Xander Bogaerts go on his watch, opting to sign Trevor Story to a six-year deal. Story spent the first three years of it mostly hurt.

5) The team signed Masataka Yoshida to a five-year and $90 million deal, and though he's a solid hitter, his DH-only ability has hampered the roster at times.

Moves that did work

1) It should be noted that Bloom drafted Marcelo Mayer (2021), Roman Anthony (2022) and Kristian Campbell (2023), all three who became Top 10 prospects that the Red Sox will lean on for years to come.

2) In that same ill-fated Renfroe deal, he also brought back utility player David Hamilton, who has become a major part of the team's roster.

3) He acquired Renfroe the first time, allowing him to have the 31-homer season in 2021.

4) He held onto prospects like Jarren Duran and Ceddanne Rafaela, who are starters for this team.

5) Acquired Wilyer Abreu, who won a Gold Glove Award in 2024, in a trade for Christian Vazquez.

Verdict 

Bloom doesn't have the reputation as a splashy decision-maker. He has a process and he can succeed doing it, though fans and media members alike may need to be more patient than they desire.