The Cardinals have reached beyond the organization and into the staff of an American League club known for incubating and enhancing young talent for one of the first additions to the front office from outside in years.
Rob Cerfolio, last with Cleveland and its farm system, will join the Cardinals as an assistant general manager overseeing player development and performance.
Among his first responsibilities will be hiring a farm director and a new director for the Cardinals' department of performance. Cerfolio will work closely with advisor Chaim Bloom as he directs upgrades and modernizations throughout the Cardinals' minor-league system and player development programs.
Cerfolio is the Cardinals' first hire to join Bloom's work a year ahead of Bloom taking over as president of baseball operations when John Mozeliak steps down at the end of his current contract.
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Cerfolio's "beliefs on player development and performance are aligned with where we want to go, and he鈥檚 been a key leader in an organization whose methods and systems have stayed at the forefront of the industry while still putting people first,鈥 Mozeliak said in a statement from the club.
Cerfolio, 32, joins the Cardinals after working for nearly a decade within Cleveland's organization. He started as an intern and worked his way up to director of player development, where he was leading the Guardians' minor-league system. During Cleveland's search for a manager more than a year ago, some media reports identified Cerfolio as a potential candidate.
He was Cleveland's director of player development from 2022 to this past season.
A native of Alabama, Cerfolio attended Yale University, where he was a part of the baseball team coached by former Cardinals pitcher John Stuper. Cerfolio, a right-handed pitcher, captained the team as both a junior and a senior, and following his senior season the Dodgers selected him in the 33rd round of the 2013 draft. He joined the Guardians as an intern in baseball operations in 2015.
As they conducted a search for additions to the front office, the Cardinals sought someone at the assistant general manager position and considered separating responsibilities from the previous roles they've had.
Cerfolio's official title, per the Cardinals, is Assistant General Manager, Player Development & Performance.
"Finding the right leadership first of all," Bloom said during a press conference in early October to announce the Cardinals' front office plans and his eventual move to lead baseball operations. "(And) getting the folks in their position to really help me as we go forward to make the adjustments is going to be really important.
"Catching up is important," Bloom continued. "We want to be able to set the tone. We鈥檙e not just going to be looking at copying everybody else. We want to find our own way."
The assistant general manager/farm director position was open with Gary LaRocque's retirement after leading the farm system for 12 seasons. The Cardinals had also shifted the responsibilities for their department of performance to others after the departure of Dr. Robert Butler.
The hiring of Cerfolio combines the leadership for areas of the organization while signaling they'll fill two positions specific to the farm system and performance.聽聽
The Cardinals do not currently have a general manager, and their plan is to keep that position open so that Bloom can hire for it in the coming year.
Michael Girsch, a senior vice president in the front office, has been the team's general manager since 2017, and as part of the changes this offseason he was moved into a special projects role. Mozeliak said he will handle some of the responsibilities of the GM during the upcoming offseason and season.
This past season the Cardinals' farm system produced Baseball America's pitcher of the year in lefty Quinn Mathews and a second consecutive Texas League MVP in catcher Jimmy Crooks. The Cardinals have expressed concern that they've slipped behind their rivals when it comes to cutting-edge player development and the expanded use of technology to maximize talent.
A specific area of focus for Bloom, his growing group, and major-league pitching coach Dusty Blake going into the 2025 season is improving and expanding the infrastructure available to help pitchers and pitch development.聽
The Cardinals also confirmed other promotions within baseball operations:聽
Matt Bayer, a Washington University grad, has moved up to Senior Director of Baseball Development. Kevin Seats will be Senior Director of Analytics, DC MacLea will now be Manager of Video Technology, and Brady Hall will contribute as Player Development, Video and Tech Coordinator.
This story will be updated.