photo: Rob Cerfolio and Chaim Bloom (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
The St. Louis Cardinals have promoted Rob Cerfolio to General Manager, filling an open position.
St. Louis Cardinals release
The St. Louis Cardinals announced today (Friday, November 6) that they have promoted Rob Cerfolio to the position of General Manager, reporting to Cardinals President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom.
Cerfolio, 34, has spent the past two seasons serving as the team’s Assistant General Manager, Player Development & Performance. He joined the Cardinals Front Office in October of 2024 after coming over from the Cleveland Guardians organization, where he worked in numerous roles dating back to 2015.
“Since joining the Cardinals two years ago, Cerf has spearheaded tremendous progress in our player development efforts from top to bottom, and in the advancement of our performance group and its integration within our entire organization,” said Bloom. “He is relentless in his desire to move us forward, and is invested in relationships with both new hires and longtime staff alike. I’m excited to partner with him in his new role as we work to set the standard for the industry in every area of baseball operations.”
Cerfolio’s career in professional baseball has included the following positions:
- GM, Player Development & Performance (2024-26) – St. Louis
- Director, Player Development (2022-24) – Cleveland
- Assistant Director, Player Development (2019-21) – Cleveland
- Assistant, Player Development (2018-19) – Cleveland
- Amateur Scouting Assistant (2016-18) – Cleveland
- Baseball Operations and Player Development Intern (2015) – Cleveland
In his most recent role with the Cardinals, “Cerf” has overseen the team’s Player Development and Performance areas while working with Director of Player Development Larry Day, Director of Hitting Dalton Hurd, Director of Performance Carl Kochan and Director of Pitching Matt Pierpont.
The Indian Springs, Ala. native graduated from John Carroll Catholic High School in Birmingham, Ala. before pitching three seasons at Yale University (2011-13). Cerfolio was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 34th round of the 2013 MLB Draft but did not sign. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Public Health with a focus towards pre-med from Yale in 2014.
Brian Walton’s take
Cerfolio has received positive reviews for his work with the Guardians and Cardinals and is considered a rising star in baseball.
When Cerfolio was hired two years ago, he joined two remaining AGMs, Randy Flores (Scouting) and Moises Rodriguez (International). Last week, Flores was hired by the Houston Astros as their general manager. Last month, the Athletics reached out to Cerfolio about their GM opening before he opted out.
The Cardinals GM position had been open for two years since Michael Girsch was moved into an advisory role.
Now, the watch will move to how Cerfolio hires his replacement to run Player Development and Performance.
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