A computer-implemented method, according to one embodiment, is for managing a plurality of blocks of memory in two or more pools. The computer-implemented method includes: maintaining a first subset of the plurality of blocks in a first pool, where the blocks maintained in the first pool are configured in single-level cell (SLC) mode. A second subset of the plurality of blocks is also maintained in a second pool, where the blocks maintained in the second pool are configured in multi-bit-per-cell mode. Current workload input/output (I/O) metrics are also identified during runtime. Moreover, a size of the first subset of blocks in the first pool and a size of the second subset of blocks in the second pool are adjusted based on the current workload I/O metrics.