ST. LOUIS — After overseeing a "reset" of the Cardinals' player development pipeline through 2025, Chaim Bloom will take over as president of baseball operations ahead of the 2026 season.

Bloom signed a five-year contract with the Cardinals as he transitions from an advisor role to eventually take over for John Mozeliak, chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. announced in a press conference Monday at Busch Stadium.

Entering his third decade with the organization, Mozeliak will lead baseball operations through the 2025 season, and he will take on some additional responsibilities previously handled by the general manager. The coming season is the final year of his contract, and there is now a plan in place for who replaces him and how Bloom will be involved in guiding the Cardinals through the months until he takes over the lead.

His first focus will be acting upon suggestions and ideas he has had after a year spent auditing a minor league and development system that has slipped behind while rivals have become cutting edge.

"To catalyze that change, ownership has given us the green light to make investments (throughout the minor league system)," Bloom said. "There is a lot of work ahead of us. These days, the bar for excellence in this area keeps getting higher. The St. Louis Cardinals are the one that set the bar for everyone else, and we can again."

MLB payroll to drop

The planned investment in player development will have a trickle-up impact on the major league roster. Mozeliak said the big league payroll is likely to go down for 2025 after surpassing $200 million this season for the first time in club history.

The exact payroll number has not yet been set but in past years it has been tied to ticket revenue, and that too softened this year.

Ownership has increased the budget for operations costs to make investment in the minor-league system possible, and some of that will shift the payroll budget, Mozeliak said. The Cardinals have an instant hunk of salary they can clear if they wish by not bringing back Kyle Gibson ($12 million option for 2025), Lance Lynn ($12 million option for 2025), Keynan Middleton ($6 million option for 2025), and free agents Paul Goldschmidt and Andrew Kittredge.

The three options will cost a total of $3 million in buyouts.

GM Girsch reassigned to new role

The Cardinals also announced that general manager Michael Girsch will move into a "special projects" role at the senior vice president level.

The specific projects are not yet identified. Girsch has overseen the team's growing analytics department. The Cardinals also have a multi-million renovation on their player development and spring training complex in Jupiter, Fla., set to start with groundbreaking in April. That is more than two years later than initially planned.

'Not a Band-Aid solution'

The construction delays in Jupiter were just a few of the hiccups that have stalled or cost the Cardinals' player development in recent years.

Mozeliak, in his opening comments, acknowledged how the farm system has slipped and how significant strides need to be made to keep up with their peers in the industry.

"It is not a Band-Aid solution, and it is not an excuse," "We need to make changes to reach our stated goal. We are committed to seeing this through."

He added: "When you think about your legacy, I do hope (the organization) is a better place when I step down next year."

Cardinals call this a 'reset'

Bloom's current title as advisor to the president of baseball operations remains the same for now. Cardinals chairman and CEO Bill DeWitt Jr. said Bloom's five-year contract begins after this coming season, and it does not include his time as an advisor.

Mozeliak said he'll assume the general manager duties vacated by Girsch's move to a "special projects role."

Mozeliak pushed back against the suggestion that the Cardinals are entering a rebuild.

"I don't see this as just a pure rebuild," Mozeliak said. "I see it as a reset. There are some fundamental things we want to do differently in the organization. Then, ultimately, as we continue to have success at the minor league level, at the player procurement level, then we can time it right to then try and reinvest at the major league level."

Mozeliak said he did not have a set number of additions slated on the player development staff. The first priority will be to add to the leadership positions in player development and then have those individuals play a part in what the player development staff will look like.

Despite the announced emphasis on bringing the player development system up to speed, DeWitt Jr. quibbled with the characterization of the Cardinals player development system having been a concern for years.

"I'm not sure that I would agree with the assessment there's been a concern for years," DeWitt Jr. said. "We've done pretty well in drafting and developing players, historically. I think the bar has risen, as Chaim would say. There's much more analytics now attached to it."

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