Redbird Droppings: Resetting For 2025

Redbird Droppings looks at how the reset button is going to be hit for 2025

The Cardinals had their post-2024 season press conference, and it was one fans were waiting to hear since rumors of changes were coming. We got a lot of info that tells us nothing of what’s changing.

Mo out after 2025; Bloom to take over as POBO for the next 5 years – John Mozeliak requested 2 more years prior to 2024 season before he was going to retire; he advocated for Chaim Bloom to be his successor. For 2025, the team will look to use Bloom’s experience in player development to help the system; he was Vice President of Baseball Operations for the Rays starting in 2014 and Chief Baseball Officer of the Red Sox starting in the 2020 season. Mo and Bloom will work hand in hand for 2025.

With the Rays, Bloom oversaw both domestic and international player development between 2014 and 2016, bringing in players like Diego Castillo, Jesus Sanchez, Vidal Brujan, Moises Gomez, Brent Honeywell, Jake Cronenworth, Josh Lowe, and Jake Fraley. He was responsible for their Baseball Performance Science Department, their Pro/Amateur/International scouting philosophy, and is credited with helping the Rays experiment outside of the box, pushing things like using an opener, and integrating analytics into the front office. But most importantly, he’s known for development of pitchers, something the Cardinals have been lacking for a few years.

Bloom was a fresh view for the organization according to Mo; they also believe that having him work with Mo this past season and in 2025, there will be a smoother transition than just firing Mo and bringing in someone else.

Girsch out as GM; new role announced – Mike Girsch has been reassigned within the organization; he’s now the Vice President of Special Projects. Girsch was GM in title only, with Mo still acting as the traditional GM role within the organization. We never really got to see what he could do building a team, but that was probably by design when he was promoted to the role. Now, he’ll be doing something else, although we don’t know (and probably won’t) what those special projects are. I’m wondering how he’s taking this demotion reassignment.

The Cardinals are updating the spring training/Lo A facilities – this is something that’s been rumored for years. Mo talked about building a Pitching Lab where guys could work on things like spin rate and develop new pitches. This never materialized; there were rumors that any update the Cardinals would make would have to be matched by the Marlins, who share the facility. We know the Marlins don’t like to put much money into the organization. They will be updating the facility starting in April, after spring training ends; they didn’t say what would be updates would be or how much they would cost.

Player Development changes are coming – While changes are coming, they didn’t really say what the changes would be. There will be new leadership under Bloom, and he’ll look inside and outside the organization. That’s pretty much all they said would happen for now.

There were some other tidbits during the Q&A with media, although there was a lot of skirting around questions.

• The team hasn’t assessed 2025 payroll, but allocating resources to minors will impact MLB payroll. There were revenue challenges this past season; the season’s projected budget was a little above what they actually made on ticket sales. The TV deal will also impact payroll; they said fans should have Direct To Consumer app where they can watch 2025 games for a fee. Sports betting could help the team financially, if it’s passed in November election.
• Bill DeWitt Jr. doesn’t feel that player development has been a major issue; he feels that there’s been success (noting 6 youngest players played more the 6 youngest for any other team; don’t know if that’s true or not).
• Part of the issue the team has faced is technology; the game is changing fast and teams are competing for advantage. They noted other issues – training regimens, analytics, etc. They later acknowledged that they fell behind in analytics and player development; they felt they were “doing fine” and stayed the course while signing MLB level players (who they noted cost draft picks) and focusing on the MLB team.
• Bill DeWitt III said they are looking at ways to improve gameday experience for fans and different ways to market team after being asked what they can do to get fans interested after the last 2 seasons.
• They continually brought up young players as a positive; they said these players should excite the fans too.
• They had no explanation for players performing better when they leave, or why top guys haven’t worked out; they didn’t even acknowledge Jordan Walker struggled. They essentially skirted the question for the most part.
• According to Mo, this is not a rebuild; it’s more of a “reset”. He said internal expectations will be higher than external. The young core of players for a long view. Mo wants things to be more like 2000-2010, where finding ways for post-season play.

They said a lot without saying anything. But there are signs of good.

I’ve been a proponent for a long time for upgrading the technology and analytics for the organization; they’ve fallen far behind from what I’ve been told. Teams are incorporating additional camera like Rapsodo to work on grip for pitching spin rates. We’ve heard the Cardinals mention things like spin rate or exit velocity, but it always felt like they were saying them just to say them; hopefully now they’ll be able to apply them to developing players.

They are also looking outside of the organization; if I’m Bloom, I’m hitting up guys from the Rays, Braves, and Orioles. They are ahead of the curve on trends in baseball, and Tampa and Baltimore are closer to the Cardinals market size. On top of that, the Cardinals have proven that they are both understaff and inefficient with their current player development system.

The bad side is the front office is still delusional about the organization. Hearing that there the young core should excite fans is not the right message right now, especially when Walker was supposed to be the face of that core. We’ve seen too many prospects not develop, or be sent away where they turn into stars. We also can’t expect that all the damage that has been done will be magically repaired by the time the team reports to Jupiter.

I also don’t like hearing about cutting payroll by trading Sonny Gray and/or Willson Contreras. The Marlins have a reputation of signing guys and trading them after a season or 2, making it hard to be active in the market. I feel like trading Gray/Contreras at this point could damage the Cardinals’ reputation with players more than they already have; we all know this isn’t the destination to come play like it was back in the Mark McGwire/Jim Edmonds/Scott Rolen days.

There is no doubt that 2025 might be another tough season, but at least the Cardinals are acknowledging they have work to do and they are working on a plan; if they would have said this after last season, the unrest with the fanbase could have been minimized (because we know they couldn’t have completely averted it). They should have called Doug Armstrong and asked for advice on how to get the fanbase onboard.