On Thursday, the St. Louis Cardinals made a waiver claim. They were sellers at the trade deadline, sending Ryan Helsley to the New York Mets, Steven Matz to the Boston Red Sox and Phil Maton to the Texas Rangers. Their bullpen certainly doesn't look the same without those three key relievers in the mix.
But the Cardinals added a little bit of help on Thursday, claiming right-hander Jorge Alcala off of waivers from the Red Sox. The 30-year-old right-hander has not had a good season thus far. He is 0-2 in 41 appearances with Boston and the Minnesota Twins and has posted a 6.64 ERA.
Following the move, fans on X were theorizing that future President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom was the one behind this move.
Chaim Bloom strikes again
— Mac (@StlMac_) August 7, 2025
The reason people may think Bloom had something to do with this is that Alcala was claimed from the Red Sox, the team that Bloom was last in charge of. He was their Chief Baseball Officer from 2020-2023.
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Chaim Bloom had nothing to do with these Red Sox ties
However, when Bloom was fired, Alcala was still with the Twins, and it was Bloom's successor, Craig Breslow who added Alcala to the team earlier this year. As much as Cardinals fans won't like to hear it, this was likely a move made by John Mozeliak, who Bloom will take over for at the end of the regular season.
Fans are done with Mozeliak for a lot of reasons, but Alcala has actually pitched much better with the Red Sox this year, posting a 3.31 ERA in 19 appearances. He is out of minor league options, so he will be added to the Major League roster for St. Louis.
John Mozeliak is still in charge for now in St. Louis
But it is interesting to see that fans automatically assumed that Bloom was in charge of making this move. Perhaps he had something to do with it, but Mozeliak is still in charge until further notice. The Cardinals have taken a flier on Alcala, and now it will be interesting to see if he can bolster their bullpen down the stretch.
St. Louis isn't a contender, so even if this move works out, their best hope is more than likely just playing spoiler down the stretch against contending teams.