Central STL News

The St. Louis Cardinals have made two new additions to their front office, focusing on strengthening their scouting department as part of ongoing organizational changes.

On Friday, the team announced the hiring of Joe Douglas, a former member of the Pittsburgh Pirates' front office, as director of pro acquisition. Douglas will be responsible for overseeing the Cardinals’ professional scouts and pro acquisition team, reporting directly to assistant general manager and director of scouting Randy Flores.

In addition, Jacob Buffa has joined the organization as senior director of international scouting. Buffa is a native of Chesterfield, Missouri, and previously served as senior director of player development and performance science for the Houston Astros. In his new role with St. Louis, he will report to assistant general manager for international scouting Moisés Rodríguez.

These appointments are in line with comments made earlier in the offseason by Chaim Bloom, who recently took over as president of baseball operations following a 78-84 season that left the Cardinals out of postseason play for a third consecutive year. Bloom indicated that while he respects much of the current front-office structure, he anticipated adding new members rather than replacing existing senior staff.

“I have a lot of respect for the people who have been here,” said Bloom. “I would like, hope and expect [that] our senior folks will all go forward with us. I do anticipate that we will have some additions to the front-office group … .”

Douglas brings eight years of experience from his time with Pittsburgh, where he most recently led player analysis efforts. Buffa’s background includes multiple roles with Houston since 2019.

Last year, Bloom hired assistant GM Rob Cerfolio, player development director Larry Day and pitching director Matt Pierpont to work alongside existing staffers.

While principal owner Bill DeWitt Jr. has not commented on payroll plans after this season’s conclusion, Bloom stated that there should be financial resources available to improve the roster ahead of 2026. The Cardinals currently have one free agent—pitcher Miles Mikolas—and nine players eligible for various levels of salary arbitration.

The organization faces several upcoming deadlines: it must decide by November 18 which prospects to add to its 40-man roster in order to protect them from December’s Rule 5 Draft; contract tender decisions are due by MLB’s November 21 deadline. Veterans Nolan Arenado (third baseman), Sonny Gray (right-handed pitcher), and Willson Contreras (first baseman) all hold no-trade clauses but could potentially be moved if management seeks to adjust payroll or accelerate rebuilding efforts.