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Some of those same players echoed fans and media by lobbying for an outside boost to their playoff hopes in the days leading up to the deadline. And in the hours after it, they were critical in the media of the deals. They seemed to both add to the present team and subtract a significant piece from it, leaving the remaining Boston Red Sox to wonder what was accomplished.

Chaim Bloom, the executive who made the moves, gave them an explanation.

鈥淚t was kind of like, I don鈥檛 know 鈥� like buy and sell is the best way to say it,鈥� recalled Xander Bogaerts on Sunday morning at Busch Stadium when asked about Bloom鈥檚 address by the Post-Dispatch. Now with San Diego, Bogaerts was an outspoken member of Boston clubhouse at the 2022 deadline.

鈥淧robably hurt a lot of guys in the clubhouse trading away (catcher Christian) Vazquez, who is a big part of our team, and we also brought in two veteran guys who had really good experience, really good success in the big leagues,鈥� he continued about deals that added Eric Hosmer and Tommy Pham. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 like he traded out everyone. He was there to explain, and that was appreciated. As a player, you sometimes think more about the now. We were right there, two games out, 2 1/2, maybe three, and they traded away a big player for us. Our record was something like the situation these guys, the Cardinals, are in.鈥�

The Cardinals approach Thursday鈥檚 trade deadline on the periphery of the wild-card race and in the thick of the marketplace. As the Post-Dispatch reported a week ago, they have let teams know they鈥檙e taking bids on relievers Ryan Helsley, Phil Maton and Steven Matz with an intent to move all three pending free agents. They鈥檙e open to discussions on young players where the roster has overlap, such as second base and outfield. John Mozeliak, the president of baseball operations leading the Cardinals into a trade deadline for his final time, spoke personally and recently with starter Sonny Gray about his wishes and whether he would use his no-trade clause to block a trade, Gray said. He declined to elaborate.

All of this happens at a time when the Cardinals are closing a season geared toward younger players and nearing the formal transition of power this season to a new president of baseball operations: Bloom, the former Boston executive.

At the deadline in 2023, Bloom said what the Cardinals want to believe in 2025.

鈥淲e really like what we鈥檙e building, (and) you鈥檝e seen it,鈥� Bloom told Boston reporters. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not something that we鈥檙e asking people to close their eyes and dream on 鈥� you鈥檙e seeing it more and more each night on the field, the core we鈥檙e building, what we鈥檙e building toward.鈥�

As an adviser to Mozeliak this season, Bloom has spent most of the season implementing expansion and changes to the player development infrastructure he thought were necessary after spending 2024 auditing the system. While out of the public eye since the news conference that revealed he would follow Mozeliak and lead baseball operations in 2026 and beyond, Bloom has been present throughout the organization. He鈥檚 been true to his title 鈥� an adviser advising.

Bloom and his hires offered experience, insight and some valuations ahead of this month鈥檚 MLB draft that informed some choices. The official who ultimately made the picks, assistant general manager Randy Flores, lauded the contributions made by Bloom & Co. Most of Bloom鈥檚 time has been spent this season with player development, but part of that structure has kept him and his hire, assistant general manager Rob Cerfolio, involved with the big league club.

In one of the final acts of his 18 years in charge of Cardinals baseball operations, Mozeliak will captain the deadline. He traditionally runs it like a ship鈥檚 bridge, drawing upon the expertise of his front office to navigate the club鈥檚 direction. Bloom is in that group and used as a resource for opinions and approaches as Mozeliak decides. Ultimately, ownership finalizes major calls at the deadline.

A year from now, it will be Bloom at the helm.

What鈥檚 to come?

Looking back through his years with Boston and Tampa Bay offers some indication on how he鈥檒l operate at the trade deadline 鈥� especially in seasons that feel, as Bogaerts suggested, similar.

鈥淔or a couple of years, we were close, and we like felt that way,鈥� Bogaerts said of Boston. 鈥淕uys figured we can get some help, we can get some guys, we can get on a run and we can make it happen. You know how we think competitively. We were playing well. But we didn鈥檛 know the full situation that you can see looking (back) now.鈥�

As Boston鈥檚 chief baseball officer, Bloom ran four trade deadlines with the Red Sox. This past offseason, a few agents and executives described him to the Post-Dispatch as a contemplative negotiator both with free agents and in trades.

In 2020, Bloom鈥檚 first season in the role, the Sox reached the shortened-season鈥檚 deadline way behind in the standings and became a textbook seller. Bloom went into accumulation mode and made deals involving 11 players. One stood out: Pitcher Nick Pivetta had a solid Sox career with a 9.6 wins above replacement before leaving to sign a four-year, $55 million deal with the Padres.

In 2021, Boston reached the deadline leading in the division and boasting a strong probability of reaching the playoffs. Bloom entered buyer mode.

An attempt to swing a deal for the Cubs Anthony Rizzo proved to exceed Boston鈥檚 preferred price, and Bloom pivoted to acquire slugger Kyle Schwarber from the Cubs. He played first base, enriched the clubhouse and powered the Sox to a 92-70 record and a wild-card berth with seven homers and a .522 slugging percentage in 41 games. Bloom also acquired two relievers, Hansel Robles and Austin Davis.

In 2022 and 2023, Bloom鈥檚 club reached the deadline in a spot the Cardinals know well from current experience.

It鈥檚 the late-July fog 鈥� not in the playoff picture, not wildly out of the race.

Middling and in the murky middle.

A compass teams can turn to at the deadline is playoff probability and their internal goals for the season. The Cardinals started Sunday with a 20.3% chance of reaching the playoffs 鈥� third-best in their division.

There is a sense in media coverage and social media buzz that a blockbuster deadline move can turn a midseason Bruce Banner into a raging playoff Hulk. Call it the CC Sabathia Effect. Milwaukee acquired the newest member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008, and the lefty bulldozed the Brewers to their first postseason berth in nearly 30 years with seven complete games, an 11-2 record and a 1.65 ERA in 17 starts.

That is the outlier. Most moves at the deadline fine tune a team, reinforce a roster before its capsizes or try to catch lightning on the pitching staff. Most often, moves help hold the postseason chances not radically enhance them.

In 2018, Bloom was a leader in the front office that had a transformative trade deadline for the organization. Tampa Bay Times baseball writer Marc Topkin described it at the time as 鈥渢he most active, hectic, and impactful trade-deadline day in franchise history.鈥� The Rays dealt starters Nathan Eovaldi and Chris Archer as part of a flurry of moves. In the Archer deal, they landed future ace Tyler Glasnow. The Rays pursued Tommy Pham from the Cardinals and packaged some prospects to pull off that deal; Pham would become a 6.4-WAR player for the Rays in two seasons with an .870 OPS, 35% better than league average.

The Rays had a winning record at the time of the moves but remained focused on their goals: clearing playing time for young, rising players and outfitting a future contender. They won 90 games that season and began a run of five consecutive playoff berths the next.

There were similarities with the situations in Boston from 2022 to 2023. Bloom was tasked with building a strong, self-sufficient farm system while also handling the pressure that exists at Fenway and Busch to win, especially when a playoff berth seems within reach. Bloom told reporters in 2022 that he wanted to 鈥済et greedy鈥� by enhancing the 2022 team and the farm.

He improved first base with the Hosmer deal but took heat for sending Vasquez to Houston. The Astros were desperate for a catcher, and a deal for future Cardinal Willson Contreras was rejected internally. In hindsight, the Red Sox capitalized by getting two players, pitcher Enmanuel Valdez and outfielder Wilyer Abreu, who reached the majors. Abreu won a Gold Glove and is an everyday player in Boston. Bogaerts noted the trade鈥檚 impact Sunday saying, 鈥淭hey got a couple of guys who helped later that how could you know?鈥�

A year later, Bloom met with veteran players to get their input ahead of the deadline. But as the Cardinals shed from a losing team in 鈥�23, Bloom added a bench player to a 56-50 club that was 2 1/2 games out of a wild-card berth and then rapidly faded to fifth place.

鈥淯nderstanding that we鈥檙e underdogs,鈥� he told the Boston Globe and others.

He then referenced the playoffs odds and the longer-range view.

It was different season than 2025, different team than the Cardinals but the same spot.

“We like where the arrow is pointing, and hopefully we can do some special things the rest of the way,” Bloom elaborated, according to . “(We) feel very confident that we’ll be able to continue building on this next year and beyond.”

For the Cardinals, next year is almost now.

And what happens beyond is Bloom鈥檚.