The St. Louis Cardinals are entering their final season with team president John Mozeliak at the helm. At the end of last season, Mozeliak let it be known that he would not renew his contract, which runs out at the end of the 2025 campaign. It was a tenure that Cardinals fans saw them bring one World Series title in 2011, six NL Central titles, and nine postseason appearances since he was named general manager in 2008.
The Cardinals did bring in Mozeliak's eventual successor, and that's Chaim Bloom. Of course, Bloom was most recently the chief baseball officer for the Boston Red Sox, which didn't result in much success for the team. Oh, and he notably traded away Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers. After four years of no World Series titles and just one postseason appearance. Bloom does operate in a certain way, and it appears it's already begun in St. Louis.
On Sunday, the Cardinals announced that Matthew Liberatore made the starting rotation over Steven Matz, who will now pivot to the bullpen until Apr. 16, when the Cardinals go to a six-man rotation.
Michael McGreevy will open the year in Triple-A, #STLCards manager Oli Marmol said.
— Daniel Guerrero (@TheDanGuerrero) March 23, 2025
Matthew Liberatore will be in the big-league rotation to open the season. Steven Matz will begin the year in the bullpen, but will move into the rotation on April 16.
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Cardinals Opening Day moves show Chaim Bloom era is upon us
How could this move be a Bloom move? Well, during his time with the Tampa Bay Rays and Red Sox, Bloom primarily valued playing younger prospects or prospect-adjacent players in hopes to build towards the future quicker than trying to win now. After all, he did work for the Rays, who would prioritize playing young prospects in favor of paying their players.
As for Mozeliak, he primarily brought in veteran options in hopes to win now. Look no further than last year, when the team signed Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson last year in hopes of filling the holes in their starting rotation and contending for the postseason. They got off to a rough start to the season but were in the thick of the NL Wild Card hunt by the trade deadline. However, they opted to sell at the trade deadline.
Even this offseason, there was a change in organizational philosophy, with Mozeliak letting it be known that they were entering a rebuild of sorts, and would not prioritize adding through free agency.
Now, Liberatore will open up the season in the rotation. Last year, Liberatore spent the majority of the season in the bullpen. In 60 games (six starts), Liberatore recorded a 4.40 ERA, a 1.27 WHIP, 76 strikeouts, and 28 walks over 86.0 innings. This spring, Liberatore primarily pitched out of the bullpen (five of six games), where he put up a 1.62 ERA, a 0.78 WHIP, and nine strikeouts in 16.2 innings.
As for Matz, he's going to get a chance back in the rotation by Apr. 16 but will start the year in the bullpen. Last season, Matz recorded a 5.08 ERA, a 1.44 WHIP, 33 strikeouts, and 15 walks in 12 games (44.1 innings). Matz had a shorted season due to a back injury. This spring, Matz put up a 2.29 ERA, a 0.97 WHIP, and 11 strikeouts in five starts (19.2 innings).
The season hasn't started yet, but the Bloom era might be beginning before it officially starts.