Chaim Bloom didn’t tip his hand much on Monday, but he did leave the door open.
With the 2026 season in the books, the St. Louis Cardinals’ president of baseball operations addressed where the franchise goes next, and free agency was a major part of the conversation. Bloom stopped short of promising a splashy winter, but he made it clear the Cardinals will at least be in the mix when the market opens.
"I think as we sit here today, not having really flushed out offseason plans, I don't want to hint at anything. Or appear to be hinting at anything because I don't think we're there yet," Bloom said when asked if the club will be looking to add in free agency.
"I think it certainly can be. The thing you have to make sure when you're [attacking free agency], especially in the stage we're in, is the arc of the contribution you expect from any player you might go out and get fits where we think we're at with our core. ...
Should definitely be and will be on the board, subject to us figuring out a lot about our offseason plans."
That’s the kind of answer that fits where the Cardinals are right now. They spent 2026 with development front and center, moving veterans out and working with one of the lowest payrolls in baseball in Bloom’s first season.
The aim was clear: get the young players on the field, stock the system, and build out the organization’s prospect base. On that front, the year did what it was supposed to do.
St. Louis came away with a better read on several players already in the room and one of the stronger farm systems in the sport.
Of course, that didn’t come with a playoff berth. The Cardinals have now missed the postseason in four straight seasons, and there’s only so much patience a fan base will give that kind of run.
Bloom’s comments suggested the Cardinals could be more active this winter than they were a year ago, but only within reason. He was careful not to sell a version of the offseason that doesn’t match the club’s stage of the rebuild.
Big, short-term swings for top-end names like Tarik Skubal or Randy Arozarena don’t sound like the path here. Instead, the idea is to look for players who fit the timeline and can support the current core without blocking the next wave.
That lines up with the way St. Louis approached last offseason, when the club added Dustin May and Ryne Stanek in free agency.
Moves in that range - or a little beyond - would make sense for this roster. The 2026 team, as it turned out, might have looked like a playoff club with a stronger bullpen, and that area should sit near the top of the list this winter.
The offense appears more settled, especially with the young players gaining another year of experience. Outside of third base, there isn’t much for the Cardinals to sort through on that side of the ball. Pitching is where the attention has to go, and the path forward looks straightforward: add a few veteran bullpen arms and maybe another starter, then see how much the young core grows from there.
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For the Cardinals, it is the sort of experiment worth watching because it could offer another way to manage a staff over the long haul, especially if the game continues to demand more innings from fewer pitchers. Still, the conversation comes with the usual caution: the potential upside is clear enough, but the health questions and the actual payoff are not, and that is exactly why this kind of decision would be debated so heavily in St. Louis. [Read more 🡒]