ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Cardinals hired Chaim Bloom as an adviser to John Mozeliak, their president of baseball operations, on Monday after the longtime front-office executive was fired by the Boston Red Sox last September.

Bloom spent 15 years in the baseball operations department in Tampa Bay, helping to build the small-market club into a perennial contender, before taking over in October 2019 as Boston’s chief baseball officer. The 40-year-old Bloom helped lead Boston to the 2021 AL Championship Series before the club slid to its third last-place finish in four seasons in 2023.

“I have known Chaim for a long time and feel that this is a great opportunity for the St. Louis Cardinals,” Mozeliak said in a statement. “It will be good to get an outside perspective of our organization from someone who is as well-respected as Chaim. Having a fresh set of eyes on all aspects of our baseball operations should be helpful.”

Chaim is a 2004 graduate of Yale and began his career with the San Diego Padres and Major League Baseball.

“I’m excited to join the Cardinals and to be a part of this great organization,” he said in a statement. “Mo and his team have given me such a warm welcome, and I’m eager to build relationships here and to learn, contribute, and help us win.”

RAYS: Wander Franco, a shortstop for the Tampa Bay Rays, was released from a jail in the Dominican Republic amid an ongoing investigation into allegations he had a relationship with a 14-year-old girl.

Franco paid 2 million Dominican pesos ($34,000) as a type of deposit required by a judge who on Friday ordered his conditional release.

While Franco is free to leave the Dominican Republic, he was ordered to appear monthly before authorities as the investigation continues.

Franco did not speak to reporters who crowded around him after his release Monday afternoon in the northern province of Puerto Plata, where he was detained a week ago.

The 22-year-old All-Star is accused of commercial sexual exploitation and money laundering, with prosecutors alleging he paid the teen’s mother thousands of dollars and gave her a car in exchange for her consent.

DODGERS: The team’s December spending spree has spilled into the New Year.

After doling out more than $1 billion on three star acquisitions last month, the Dodgers made another splash Sunday night by agreeing to a one-year, $23.5-million deal with free-agent outfielder Teoscar Hernández, a person with knowledge of the situation unauthorized to speak publicly confirmed.

The deal, which was first reported by ESPN, gives the Dodgers the right-handed hitting outfielder they had coveted to complete their offseason. Hernández, 31, is an eight-year veteran and one-time all-star who has a career .261 batting average, .802 on-base-plus-slugging percentage and 159 home runs.

The slugger is coming off a down season in 2023 with the Seattle Mariners, when he batted just .258 with a .741 OPS. However, that was still above league-average production, with Hernández collecting 26 home runs and 93 RBI.

With the Dodgers – whose lineup was already bolstered by the addition of two-way star Shohei Ohtani – Hernández will be asked to fill another important role, giving the new-look Dodgers another new weapon at the plate.