The Cardinals don't have any players left on the Team USA or Venezuela rosters, but there is something uniquely important for fans to pay attention to.
The World Baseball Classic final is on Tuesday night (7 p.m. CT) between Team USA and Team Venezuela. While the game itself is interesting on its own, it is uniquely important for St. Louis Cardinals fans.
Not because of Cardinals players who are playing - there aren't any - but because it's a showcase for what Chaim Bloom can do in rebuilding the organization.
See, there are three players playing in the game that Chaim Bloom acquired when he was running the Boston Red Sox. And they were acquired in three different ways, which shows off the potential for Bloom to remake the roster as he attempts to get the Cardinals back to the playoffs in the coming years.
Roman Anthony
The No. 1 prospect in baseball at the time of his call-up in June of 2025, Anthony was drafted by Bloom in the second round of the 2022 MLB Draft. While his eight-homer, 32-RBI cameo in 2025 was impressive for the Red Sox, he's shown to be a star in the WBC, hitting .31`8 with two homers in six games for Team USA.
In fact, if he puts together a good final and Team USA wins? He might be looking at tournament MVP.
Teams passed on Anthony in the first round and an opportunistic Bloom found him in the second round. The Cardinals have six draft picks inside the Top 100 in 2026, and with Bloom running the room, there's a chance for more success stories just like this, but in St. Louis.
Wilyer Abreu
Abreu is a two-time Gold Glover for the Red Sox who hit 22 homers in 2025. He's also provided Venezuela with the moment of the tournament, socking a three-run game-winning homer against the defending champions (Japan). He's hitting .294 for the event with six RBIs and will feature prominently for the Red Sox again this season.
Bloom acquired him at the trade deadline in 2022 from the Houston Astros for catcher Christian Vazquez. The Cardinals traded away Brendan Donovan, Nolan Arenado, Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras this offseason, and the proof of Bloom's ability to trade is evident in Abreu.
Garrett Whitlock
Whitlock pitched to a 2.25 ERA in 62 games for the Red Sox last season, striking out 91 batters in 72.0 innings, so he's already been good, but the rest of the world is getting to see his nastiness on display in this tournament. Three games. One hit. Zero walks. Five strikeouts. Upper-90s fastball with two devastating offspeed pitches.
And oh yeah, Bloom got him in the Rule-5 Draft before the 2021 season, showing another way that he can find and evaluate talent.
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