The St. Louis Cardinals may have purged their roster of veteran players this past winter, but they did so in a way that allowed them to acquire as much young and controllable pitching as possible. The future is starting to appear much brighter for the Cardinals despite starting their rebuild.
A lot is changing in St. Louis under Chaim Bloom, who is entering his first year as president of baseball operations. The Cardinals have a lot of things to look forward to despite the outlook for 2026 being somewhat bleak.
On Sunday, Bloom stopped by KMOX to talk about the team’s pitching depth, and he sounded quite excited about what the Cardinals have in place.
Chaim Bloom sounds hyped about pitching depth
Jul 27, 2022; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom talks with the media before a game against the Cleveland Guardians at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images | Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images“We’re really happy with what we’ve seen so far,” Bloom said. “This is spring training. We’re still building up, and certainly sometimes you can see things in spring training, good or bad that don’t last into the season, so what we’ve got to be mindful of that but these guys, for the most part are where you would want them to be at this point.”
The Cardinals signed right-hander Dustin May to a one-year, $12.5 million contract last offseason after he posted a 4.96 ERA with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox. They also traded for Richard Fitts, Hunter Dobbins and Jurrangelo Cijntje.
They had lacked pitching depth heading into the offseason, but they finally have added some to their mix and have options they can turn to in case of an injury. They may not be expected to contend this year, but there are still things for them to look forward to.
Bloom was busy rebuilding the pipeline. That is the main goal for St. Louis in order to get back to where they once were.
But Bloom seems excited about what the Cardinals have, and it’s the first time in several years where the Cardinals can say they have a lot of strong pitching depth in their system. They may not have Sonny Gray anymore, but there are more options at their disposal than there have been in years past.
It will be interesting to see who ultimately emerges from the Cardinals depth as potential rotation pieces. There is a lot of competition for the final two spots, and arms such as Fitts, Kyle Leahy and Andre Pallante have all performed quite well this spring.
