With a 47-42 record, the St. Louis Cardinals sit one game behind the San Diego Padres for the last NL Wild Card slot and 6.5 games behind Chicago, who are in first place in their division. How the company handles a crucial trade deadline will be decided over the course of the next three weeks.
Fans have pleaded with the Cardinals to choose a path for years. Despite having several costly contracts, this seasoned roster hasn’t done much as a unit. The farm system in St. Louis is little compared to most MLB systems. Last summer, the fan base demanded fundamental changes since they had little optimism for the future or on the field. John Mozeliak failed to live up to expectations.
The Cards are currently caught in an odd limbo between attempting to compete and assessing the situation realistically. The purpose of this roster is not to compete for sustainability. Although Mozeliak is aware of that, he will likewise be absent for the upcoming season. Mozeliak basically just has to consider this season while on his honeymoon tour. This might lead to a power struggle in the Cardinals’ front office in the coming weeks.
Cardinals front office faces potential discord as John Mozeliak captains final trade deadline
Chaim Bloom has already been committed by St. Louis to serve as team president once Mozeliak retires. Since he is a unique decision-maker, Bloom has spent this season working quietly in the background, most likely concentrating on strengthening the Cardinals’ farm system and creating future plans.
Historically, Mozeliak and Bloom have had different priorities. Mozeliak’s statement that he and Bloom are collaborating on choices at the last minute seems like a certain way to end up with disagreements and conflicting opinions.
“I do feel like when you look at where we are that week leading up, the 72 hours leading up to the trade deadline, that may affect how (Bloom and I) make our decisions,” Mozeliak told Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (h/t MLB Trade Rumors). “I hope we have really hard decisions to make come July 31 because that means we’re playing well.”
Mozeliak and Bloom described their trade deadline procedure as a “collaboration.” The incumbent president and his known successor seldom work together, even if all front offices cooperate to some extent. Given their wildly disparate management philosophies in the past, this is a unique dynamic that will be interesting to see develop.
However, this does not imply that Mozeliak and Bloom cannot or will not get along. Throughout the season, they have collaborated without any complaints of annoyance or conflict. However, the franchise’s trade deadline is crucial, particularly since Mozeliak and Bloom’s options for spending at the deadline are limited due to a drop in income.
It will be interesting to watch whose voice—Mozeliak’s win-now mindset vs Bloom’s longer perspective in the room—carries more weight if the Cardinals don’t undoubtedly swing drastically positive or negative in the upcoming weeks and make it to the postseason bubble deadline.
