The Red Sox announced a series of roster moves ahead of this morning’s game against the Angels. The club has optioned infielder Bobby Dalbec to Triple-A and designated right-hander Jake Faria for assignment, while activating right-hander Brayan Bello from the 15-day injured list and recalling outfielder Jarren Duran from Triple-A.
Faria, 29, was selected to the roster just yesterday, is DFA’d without making an appearance for Boston. A career 4.70 ERA (90 ERA+) pitcher with a 20.9% strikeout rate and 10% walk rate in the major leagues, Faria will now likely look to catch on with another club, as the Red Sox have seven days to waive, trade, or release the right-hander. Faria last pitched in the major leagues in 2021, as he spent all of the 2022 season in the minors with the Twins.
Bello’s activation is no surprise, as he had already been announced as the starter for this morning’s game against the Angels. Long considered to be one of the club’s top prospects, Bello made his major league debut in 2022 and held his own, posting just a 4.71 ERA (90 ERA+) in 57 1/3 innings of work, though his strong 2.94 FIP, inflated .404 BABIP, and somewhat low 68.2% strand rate all indicate there was some bad luck baked into Bello’s performance last year. The 23 year-old will step into the Red Sox rotation, potentially replacing fellow young right-hander Tanner Houck in the long term, though the club appears poised to use a six-man rotation for the time being.
Dalbec, 28 in June, was a 4th round pick by the Red Sox in the 2016 draft, and impressed early in his career with a 114 wRC+ in 545 plate appearances in the 2020 and 2021 seasons. That impressive start to his career had a major red flag, however, as Dalbec was striking out in 35.8% of his plate appearances over that time. That penchant for strikeouts has continued in the years since, while Dalbec’s power dissipated. Dalbec hit 33 home runs, 24 doubles, and 5 triples from 2020-2021, but has managed just 12 home runs, 9 doubles, and 2 triples in 364 plate appearances since the start of the 2022 season. Dalbec will now head to Triple-A and serve as infield depth for the club going forward.
Duran, 26, figures to make his season debut today against the Angels. Despite an impressive .299/.366/.468 career slash line in the minors, including a .266/.353/.498 line in 641 Triple-A plate appearances, Duran has struggled mightily at the major league level since his debut in 2021, posting a career wRC+ of just 68 and -0.8 fWAR in 91 career games in the big leagues. Duran figures to provide further outfield depth behind starters Alex Verdugo and Masataka Yoshida in the corners and the current center field platoon of Raimel Tapia and Rob Refsnyder.
For those who insist Bloom doesn’t make more moves than any other team, this is just one example to prove them wrong again.
There is no long term plan. Just because one article says “With Bello expected to be a regular starter” it doesn’t mean he’s in the rotation for the remainder of the year.
Follow this team long enough, you’ll learn not to trust what we are told.
Slime Bloom has been disintegrating the Championship team slowly and aimlessly. Like super-slow motion torture.
mando – There’s really only two players left, Sale and Devers.
(Nobody counts Brasier).
FPG – Brasier is a 35 year old ARB 3 player making $2MM. Nothing says Bloom more than those numbers!!! BUTT…. He signed in LAA in 2014 then was out of baseball until 2018 when he signed a minor league contract with Boston. His major league contract was signed March 5th 2019!!!
He is NOT a 2018 Championship Team guy, Yes, he was inherited by Bloom and he’s pitched so much as a Red Sox player because Cora fell in love with the bench story that was Brasier’s career before Cora. Bench guys like to stick together!!
“He signed in LAA in 2014 then was out of baseball until 2018 ”
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Brasier was with Oakland farm system in 2015 and 2016. Including 46 appearance in 2016 for the Nashville Sound.
In 2017 he pitched for the Hiroshima Toyo Carps.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Brasier
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I dont understand why you have to lie all the time.
KD – You must be thinking of another crappy relief pitcher! Haha!
Brasier pitched incredibly well for 33 regular season innings with the 2018 Red Sox.
He also pitched very well in 7 ALDS/ALCS games for the 2018 Red Sox, although he wasn’t very good in the 2018 WS.
FPG – Interesting. You are right that he threw for the 2018 team but Spotrac has his contract history and he had only a minor league contract in 2018. I did not realize a guy could pitch in the majors without a major league contract. I should have gone to Baseball Reference for his performance but since he had no Red Sox MLB contract I assumed he didn’t pitch.
Interesting. SPOTRAC Excerpts
Mar 11 2018 Signed a minor league contract with Boston (BOS)
Mar 5 2019 Signed a 1 year $577,500 contract with Boston (BOS)
I think because the hairs on my neck go up when he comes in to pitch I pushed his 2018 performance out of my memory!!! Good call. My bad.
The only real question was why call up Faria at all?
He’s nothing great, just use, churn and burn depth for when it’s needed… but the question is, why bother at all?
If Whitlock doesn’t go 7 yesterday, they shred a tired bullpen in the middle of a stretch of 19 consecutive games.
wanzey – It’s Cora’s mismanagement of the pitching staff that’s the problem. He has an 8-man bullpen. That includes a 36-year-old Bleier who has a 11.81 ERA and 2.06 WHIP, an absolute waste of a roster spot but they are holding onto him because he’s the only LHP in the pen.
Same thing with Crawford, holding onto him despite a 6.75 ERA.
Until yesterday, Cora hasn’t kept ANY starting pitcher in a game for more than 5 innings.
Want some examples?
In Detroit Cora pulled Houck after just 74 pitches despite an 8-2 lead.
In Tampa Cora pulled Kluber after just 76 pitches despite still holding onto a 3-2 lead. Bleier came in and when he left the Sox were losing 8-3.
In Tampa Cora pulled Sale after just 81 pitches
In Tampa Cora pulled Whitlock after just 85 pitches.
In Detroit Cora pulled Crawford after just 65 pitches despite actually pitching well.
In Detroit Cora pulled Sale after just 74 pitches despite actually pitching well.
Against the Pirates Cora pulled Kluber after just 67 pitches despite giving up just one run on 3 hits.
Against the O’s Cora pulled Houck after just 70 pitches despite leading 6-3.
Cora is absolutely clueless. He is devaluing the starting pitchers and not fully utilizing them while also burning out the bullpen,
Will he keep the starting pitchers in games longer when they have a 6-man rotation? I wouldn’t hold my breath.
But the team can’t go back and undo those decisions by Cora, which is why Faria was brought up to be a fresh arm that could be leaned on for multiple innings in a worst case scenario situation. Thankfully that didn’t happen, but that doesn’t mean having him there just in case was the wrong move.
Much ado about nothing. Faria hit the revolving door running!!!
Another one bites the dust!
king – While I mentioned below in another post that Bleier and Crawford could have pitched yesterday, and Ort could have gone more than one inning, you’re right.
KD – I’m waiting for the usual suspects to insist “Bello pitched great today, he just had a lot of very bad luck!”.
I mean really, he could not have been any worse today … and he didn’t even have to face Trout or Rendon.
I know he can turn it around eventually, but so far he clearly doesn’t look ready for The Show.
Bleier who has a 11.81 ERA and 2.06 WHIP, an absolute waste of a roster spot but they are holding onto him because he’s the only LHP in the pen.
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You simply have no BB sense. They are holding onto Bleier because he has a long. long history of success. But just to give you a chance to prove your point, how many veteran RPs have been cut so far? I will assume -0-.
FWIW, his lone bad outing consists of:
GB single
GB single
HBP
Bunt single
GB double
Hardly a shellacking. No GM in BB is going to panic and cut guys this early.
Of course it was a bad outing. No real BB cares. This is what happens to prospects. Last year, Bello had a 7.27 ERA thru the end of august, and a 2.59 in September.
Joe – I’m not demanding he be cut now, I’m saying he is a waste of a roster spot and at the very least should be available for mop-up duty. When Joely returns I wouldn’t be surprised if Bleier is sent packing.
You don’t even know how he was acquired. The Marlins were so desperate to get rid of him, they traded him for Barnes and $5.625M in cash AFTER Barnes was designated for assignment. Barnes was a pure salary dump, saving the Sox $4.6M against their 2023 payroll.
Teams don’t get quality players in return for a salary dump, you should know that.
@ Fever Pitch Guy
Man, the BS you won’t go through to fit your narrative and hatred for Cora.
Want some examples?
In Detroit Cora pulled Houck after just 74 pitches despite an 8-2 lead. – Houck in his 2nd start was pulled after 5IP 2ER and an 8-2 lead. No need to push him longer
In Tampa Cora pulled Kluber after just 76 pitches despite still holding onto a 3-2 lead. Bleier came in and when he left the Sox were losing 8-3. – This is probably the only gripe you might have, Maybe Cora felt Kluber was tiring and could get the final out from the bullpen, Didn’t happen and 2 runs were charged to Kluber making his day 4.2 LP 4ER
In Tampa Cora pulled Sale after just 81 pitches – Sale who missed all of last year and was coming off his first start where he got shelled for 3IP 7ER and his second start where he went 5IP 3 ER vs the Tigers. And in this game he gave up 5 ER in 4 innings. And you expected Cora to let him go further against the Rays lineup???
In Tampa Cora pulled Whitlock after just 85 pitches. – Again here is a pitcher that gave up 5 ER in only 5 innings of work and you expect Cora to send him back out there?
In Detroit Cora pulled Crawford after just 65 pitches despite actually pitching well. – His first start he went 4 IP 7 ER, this was his second start and he went 5 IP 1 ER and left with a 2-1 lead.
In Detroit Cora pulled Sale after just 74 pitches despite actually pitching well. – Pitching well? He was already down 3-2 before he pulled him after 5 innings. The Red Sox scored 3 runs at the top of the 6 to take a 6-3 lead.
Against the Pirates Cora pulled Kluber after just 67 pitches despite giving up just one run on 3 hits. – This was Kluber’s 2nd start after getting shelled in his first start where he labored with is control 4 walks and gave up 5 ER in 3.1 IP.
Against the O’s Cora pulled Houck after just 70 pitches despite leading 6-3. – This was his first and the Sox weren’t up 6-3, it was 3-0 Red Sox until the 5th inning when Houck gave up 3 runs to tie it in his final inning of work. He finished the day 5 IP 3 ER and the Red Sox broke the 3-3 tie in the bottom of that 6th. I guess you believe Cora should have let him go out of a 6th inning?
Cora is absolutely clueless. He is devaluing the starting pitchers and not fully utilizing them while also burning out the bullpen,
It seems like you are the one that is actually clueless and need to pay more attention to the actual game being played.
Cora is a huge analytics guy, analytics say get rid of the starter after he’s gone through the lineup twice. Whitlock only did 7 innings because the bullpen was spent. Especially in the beginning of the season for the first 2 months he will only use the starters for 5 or 6 innings because especially with this rotation he’s trying to keep pitches and innings down. Nobody wants Sale going 110 pitches then blowing out his elbow or something. Same can be said for most the starting rotation.
The Marlins were so desperate to get rid of him, they traded him for Barnes and $5.625M in cash AFTER Barnes was designated for assignment.
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You’ve just fallen apart. Miami had no reason to trade him except they thought that Barnes had a better chance of closing.
King – You just nailed it. While every MLB manager utilizes analytics, Cora overuses them and misuses them. As a result, more games are lost than should be. Relievers get burned out, and there’s too much reliance on garbage relievers to pitch more high leverage innings.
The best starting pitchers in the game go more than 5 innings.
Houck and Pivetta lead the Red Sox starters with 14 innings pitched … there are exactly 100 starting pitchers in MLB who have pitched more innings than them.
History has shown in 2019, 2021 and 2022 that Cora’s pitching staff management is a colossal failure. So why would you think it will work in 2023?
Joe – I guess I shouldn’t expect you to watch other team’s games, since you don’t even watch Red Sox games.
The Marlins had enough with Bleier’s pitch-to-contact style, as he was getting absolutely hammered in high leverage situations last year.
Again, if a team sends a player and $5.625M in cash for a guy who was designated …. that means the player being sent with the cash has very little value. It’s common sense.
Bello pitched great today, he just had a lot of very bad luck! (I just couldn’t resist…..)
Fever Pitch Guy
I think that with the debut of Bello against Angels made haste, it was needed to give yet the pair of matches in more minor leagues, as they did with Paxton.
In Cora’s 4 full years, would you guess that the Red Sox SPs throw more innings or less innings per start than the average AL team?
And knowing that you are going to be wrong, explain why more or less IPs/GS is good or bad.
Kingburn – Cora can’t even spell analytics!!! He’s just a cheater. Face facts.
Is Cora starting a clueless cult? I keep reading these insane rationalizations for a man with no perceptible skills other than cheating.
Quick lesson about pitching. Ask any pitcher whether they have an issue with pitching 100 pitches in a game in April if they have gotten a proper amount of work in Spring Training. If they can’t go 100 pitches in April, that’s on Cora not the pitchers. Cora doesn’t understand pitching. He tries to baby pitchers and it always backfires.
Sale needs to be throwing 80 or more pitches every game so he can work his way back into shape. His control is terrible right now due to the very long lay off. He’s a huge talent so he just needs to be given the opportunity to get back in his groove. Cora ALWAYS disrupts that opportunity for the elite pitchers he coaches. He’s clueless and should step aside and let an expert make the decisions but his ego can’t stop him from intervening where he doesn’t belong. It’s pure pride and ignorance that Cora displays daily as a manager. He needs to be fired!! It would significantly help the pitching staff.!!
Fever Pitch Guy
You spare too large attention ERA and doesn’t attach significance to such indexes as FIP.
Crawford conducted an excellent match against angels, three times met with Ohtani 0-3, Renfroe blotted out two times.
His ERA went down from 6.75 to 4.42, WHIP to 0.98.
He so much suffered in the first game against the pirates of 4.1IP, 7 ER.
Whitlock and Crawford saved bullpen for opposition with Minnesota.
We will look as Sale will conduct the first game.
Joe – I already did explain in great detail how pulling SP’s too soon is detrimental to the starters, the relievers, and the team’s record.
So what you think about the new rule being tested, if the SP doesn’t go 5 innings then his team loses the DH for the rest of the game.
Maybe they should call it “The Cora Rule”?
Who do you trust to be a workhorse in this rotation? Maybe Whitlock and Houck but they haven’t proven that yet. Sale, Paxton, and Kluber are all on injury watch right now you hope and pray for 5 with them. Bello hasn’t pitched a full MLB season yet he has talent but is a complete unknown. Given all these issues we have to go the untraditional route and sign bullpen depth whenever available. Load up Triple A with replacement level MLB bullpen arms that for one reason or another got released, hopefully players that can be sent back and forth. Unless Sale and Kluber show they are actually healthy this is how we have to win.
The only real question was why call up Faria at all?
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No, the real (and obvious) question is, “why not?”. As RHS mentioned, suppose the score is 10-0, or 0-10? It is unlikely, but if Whitlock is down 7-0, then Faria is pitching 6 innings.
Once again, you are questioning a nothing move, which would’ve made sense about 5% of the time. And questioning a move with literally no downside.
Joe – Before criticizing GASox you really need to educate yourself first.
You said: “Suppose the score is 10-0, or 0-10? It is unlikely, but if Whitlock is down 7-0, then Faria is pitching 6 innings.”
First of all, Faria has pitched in just 3 games (all minors) this year for a combined total of 5 innings. What on Earth makes you think he’s capable of pitching 6 innings in yesterday’s game?
Second of all, why the hell are the Sox carrying Bleier in the bullpen if he’s not gonna pitch mop-up? Are you saying he’s not capable of pitching on consecutive days?
And what about Crawford? He hasn’t pitched since Thursday, and he’s a former starter!
Ort threw only 13 pitches Saturday after not pitching Wed thru Fri, you don’t think he could have gone at least 2 innings yesterday?
You keep making excuses for Cora’s crappy managing, but highly intelligent people like GASox aren’t buying any of it.
Joe, if you’ve read my posts in the other threads – when Faria was called up, when his depth replacement, that lefty was claimed, all along I’ve acknowledged Faria isn’t some super important cog in the red sox system.
HOWEVER, he’s been carried for a purpose – depth for an aging, injury prone, volatile bullpen. There’s guys already on the staff who exist for the exactly the type of duty you describe.
You burn a guy like Faris when the pen is exhausted and you have him pitch back to back days a few innings to give a break. Or you burn him when you’ve got a bunch of guys on the IL, need a warm body, and a week or two later you bump him when guys are returning.
I still question why? Is it because there’s guy’s in the pen that shouldn’t be there because they’re untrusted to do the work? We’ve already got guy’s in the pen that ought to do mop-up duty…
Second of all, why the hell are the Sox carrying Bleier in the bullpen if he’s not gonna pitch mop-up?
And what about Crawford?
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Because Bleier & Crawford are real pitchers who might make positive contributions. If I am going to burn someone out, it is going to be the guy I plan on cutting the next day.
This is not even discussionable.
There’s guys already on the staff who exist for the exactly the type of duty you describe.
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No, there aren’t. if you are down 10-0, you don’t pitch Crawford or Bleier. Those two could make a contribution as early as today. Again, this isn’t even a question. If you are going to burn someone out, it is the guy you are cutting. There is -0- doubt about it.
Because Bleier & Crawford are real pitchers who might make positive contributions.
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I don’t want to toot my own horn, but this is exactly what I was talking about. Crawford almost pulled out a great win today. He and Bleier can pitch. It doesn’t matter how inconsistent they are, They will always be a better bet than Faria.
Again, it isn’t discussionable. If you are going to burn someone out, it will always be, 100% of the time, the guy you are getting rid of.
GA, do you now get what I am talking about? You are never going to use guys like Bleier and Crawford for mop-up duties, if a guy like Faria is available.
There is -0- doubt about it. And sure, this was a great outing by Crawford, and maybe he reverts back. But Crawford will always be a better bet than Faria.
Joe – That is one of the most bizarre borderline sad arguments you’ve ever tried to make … and that’s saying something!
So yesterday if the Sox were trailing by 4 early in the game, you’d have used Faria instead of Crawford.
But today when they were trailing by 4, you’d have used Crawford instead of Faria … and because they actually did use Crawford, you think that entitles you to toot?
One more time:
Crawford career 6.01 ERA 1.467 WHIP 91 IP
Faria career 4.70 ERA 1.414 WHIP 203 IP
You arguing that Crawford has a much better track record than Faria is both hysterical and tragic.
@Fever
This instance Joe is right. If Whitlock had been shelled early they would have used Faria over Bleier or Crawford. As that was the ONLY reason he was brought up. As for today they needed Crawford and he delivered 6.1 stellar innings.
And for this argument Crawford is better than Faria just because Faria had no value to the team. Now as for who has had a better career it really didn’t matter as one would only be used as cannon fodder. And that was Faria.
Joe, nobody knows when Crawford, or Bleier, or anyone else are getting a call. And, it’s important to get guys regular work that are in the mlb pen.
They don’t just sit on the shelf for 3, 5, 9 days between outings just in case you need them. It’s why sometimes even your best relievers pitch in a losing game, just to get them work, and, just to keep them working frequently enough they can keep going back to back days a couple times a week.
Again, I point to other threads – I’ve never claimed Faria is going to become some all-star closer this year.
But.
You’ve got a finite supply of mlb-capable relievers that you aren’t trying to keep stretched out to cover for the shaky stable of starters this team has.
Then, as an aside, there’s the whole churn/burn practice that I still feel is a negative MLB issue which I hope the new union kills.
lamar – We will never know for certain how yesterday would have played out if Whitlock had gotten shelled early. My guess is he would have been left in there for around 100 pitches no matter how bad he pitched.
We don’t doubt Faria was brought up for just that one game, it’s the justification that we question. Did Bloom suddenly determine Faria has no value, and therefore didn’t care if Faria signed with another team after being designated? Again, we will never know for certain.
Bello will be in the rotation if he pitches well and doesn’t get injured. Just like with any other GM and manager, if Bello pitches poorly, he will get moved to the pen or the minors.
One rule I would love to see changed in the next CBA is that players are required to stay on the 26 man roster for a minimum of 2 weeks if they are selected. I hate seeing people (usually younger veterans) jerked around and put into limbo for 2 weeks just so they can get 1 day added to their service time. It’s not right.
Once a guy is optioned doesnt the current cba require him to stay down for min 10 days unless there is an injury on the mlb active rostor?..would an extra 4 days make much diff?
Poo – Faria wasn’t optioned, he had no options remaining. He was designated for assignment.
Faria was designated for assignment, not given his outright release. I think he’ll be back in Worcester in 2 days.
hiflew – Fantastic post, I totally agree!! So he was basically brought up just in case yesterday’s score was lopsided, and now he’s gone and potentially headed to another organization. Absolutely ridiculous.
MLB has been great with recently implementing “minimum”-type rule changes.
Minimum batters faced
Minimum position players on rosters
Minimum fielders on each side of the diamond
I think a minimum number of days for promoted players is a fantastic idea!
players are required to stay on the 26 man roster for a minimum of 2 weeks
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I mentioned something similar during the CBA negotiations. Ten days on the roster would only discourage teams from even promoting some kids. But what they could do is to give a player a minimum of 10 days service credit every time they get promoted.
For guys that are really on the fringe, they might not be working for anything more than pension benefits. An extra ten days might be appreciated and is kind of fair.
I dunno Joe. For all the focus on quality of life of players, getting bounced around like a ping pong ball for 10 days of service, that’s not much consolation for how life gets uprooted by guy’s like blooms claiming and DFA-ing willy nilly.
Now, if you added say a $25k assignment bonus for every released player as well, now were starting to talk. Maybe $50k wouldnt be a bad idea at that….
How is what Bloom did with Faria any different than what Dipoto just did in Seattle with Tommy Milone?
GASoxFan
guy’s like blooms claiming and DFA-ing willy nilly.
Now, if you added say a $25k assignment bonus for every released player as well,
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Two things wrong.
1-Every GM does this. Bloom didn’t invent adding one-day pitchers.
2-All adding a $25k payday to this would do is to stop teams from doing this. So is Faria better off making $4,166.67 for driving to Fenway, or better off earning -0- yesterday?
Well, it wouldn’t be zero, it’d be his minor league salary.
And, this isn’t a bloom-centric proposal, it’s a MLB-wide criticism, just popping up in a bloom-related article. Notice the part that said guys like bloom, not just bloom.
Guys who are in a system, if you reduce the churn, burn, DFA, and claimed to another system it’s far less disruptive of life.
Maybe the guys can have their family live near where they play. Maybe they can have some.sort of roots and continuity.
If he was called up and optioned down, sure I wouldn’t care. But each time you add the risk for minor leaguers across mlb being DFA, and sent elsewhere across country… I think any DFA should carry a 25-50k bonus.
king – Faria was never used, while Milone not only was used but he also pitched quite well.
Not really much of a difference. Both spent a day in the majors and were then DFAed off the roster. If anything what happened to Milone was worse if he actually pitched well and was still cut loose.
King – I have never bought into the fan mentality of keeping or dropping a pitcher based on one appearance. Even the worst pitchers in MLB history have pitched an inning or two without giving up a run.
I believe the use of virtual roster in the high minors is out of hand – as are the injuries. Fans don’t know who’s on their team if they miss a few weeks of following their team because they have a life. So I’d go a lot further and simplify the situation….
o ML rosters are expanded to 30 players.
o During the season a team is allowed 8 call-up’s and 8 sent-downs. If a player is called up 2 times and sent down 2 times he’s used 4 of the teams 16 options.
o Players can still go on the IL and not count against a roster spot.
If a team has too many guys injured and wants another call-up – tough luck.
Players are getting injured at an alarming rate. Since medical science has improved in every other aspect of American society, and rules have been changed to no longer allow players to slide into one another, etc., there has to be another reason players constantly get injured. About time this nonsense of diving for balls, crashing into walls, throwing 100 mph, batters swinging with all their might in every inning of each teams 162 game season is ridiculous. Baseball
is supposed to be a marathon, not a sprint. Players need to learn to pick their spots…the way major league players used to.
MLB has hit a point that what differentiates teams from having a successful or unsuccessful season is how many of their key players got injured…..and for how long. This should not be the criteria for winning. Fans deserve better. Players deserve better.
Not sure why Bloom making a lot of moves matters, if anything it means he’s more hands on with the bottom of the roster. Also, injuries play a lot into it. Show me a team that has some injuries and I’ll show you a team thats making a lot of moves.
Its not that people are saying he doesnt make a lot of moves, its more who cares. And please dont compare the Red Sox to a team with a stacked roster (Dodgers, Astros). Of course they don’t have as many question marks at the bottom of their roster, and dont make as many moves.
short answer: it doesn’t but he makes about the same amount of moves as any GM. There are other things to criticize him over that are lot more legit than the back end of the roster but people that hate him and the front office will latch onto anything as an excuse to criticize.
Every team does this. Nobody ever wants to go with a 25-man roster. Last year, the RS played in 14 games that were absolute blowouts. That’s about a 9% chance that Faria could’ve soaked up some meaningless innings.
Joe – Faria was the one called up, because he was going to be a DFA after the game. His spot was needed for Bello who has been scheduled to rejoin the 26-man roster and start against the Anaheim today for the last week.
The Red Sox also shifted Zach Kelly and Wyatt Mills to the 60-day DL to open 40-man spots for players to be called up. This is normal transaction process that ALL team do.
I don’t really understand the Faria move. Pretty sure he wasn’t on the 40 man until Martin went on the DL so with them knowing that Bello was coming back I have no idea why they even selected his contract unless they saw enough of him in AAA and knew they wanted no part of him.
the bullpen was thin yesterday. They brought him up as insurance.
Its about time Duran is back up….. now every time he gets on base he should be running. Utilize his best tool, his speed…. teams are running wild because of the new rules.
Hamilton has more speed, and SS is more of a need. He shouldve been first call up.
Hamilton has had only 45 a bats above AA and all have come this year so perhaps that was the logic? And unfortunately he’s not really known for his defense. Otherwise I agree that he should have been the one called up.
Acell10 – Correct, Hamilton is not known for his defense and has not played that much SS in his minor league career. He has been the Worcester Red Sox best hitter this year, but the team has only played 14 games.
I wonder if they are going to try Hamilton in center now that Duran has been brought up. I agree they should of called him up if they continue to play him at short and bring Rafaela to AAA to play center.
The problem is he can’t get on base and he is a terrible outfielder.
Nobby – Terrible is such a vague description. Is Devers terrible on defense? Is Kiki terrible on defense? Is Yoshida terrible on defense?
Sure seems to me that he fits right in with so many other Red Sox players. I think you are being too selective in choosing him over all these better choices. He’s an average Red Sox defender better than many and worse than many.
Well to answer one of those questions, No Devers is not terrible on defense. He was in the past but is not anymore. That’s been pretty evident so far this season.
Kingken67 – In 2022 Devers had 52 mishaps. Balls hit to him that he did not field and get the batter out. The score keepers only gave him 14 errors!! That’s both dishonest and embarrassing that the front office plays games with stats. Anyone who saw Adley Rutchman’s 5 for 5 game knows EXACTLY what I’m talking about. He got two extra hits so Devers didn’t get the errors. Does cheating for Devers really make him a better defender? I guess it does to you but not to me. I like facts not fiction.
Baseballs hit directly to his right foot on two hops were called base hits to 3B in the official record book according to Baseball Reference. Go back and count them if you don’t believe me. 52 balls hit to Devers were misplayed and only 14 errors got counted. That means the pitching staff ATE 38 hits and who knows how many runs so Devers could APPEAR TO BE GOOD!!!
He’s just as bad as he was 10 years ago when he played in the DR and couldn’t field. Then he couldn’t field in the minors for several years (.937 fielding percentage) and now in his 7th season his current fielding percentage in the majors is .942. That’s why he will always be
THE BUTCHER OF BOSTON.
In 2023 the official record books have the following documentation of Devers errors called hits:
1 – Game 1 vs BAL 3rd inning a hit was credited to Rutschman on a 3B misplay
2 – Game 1 vs BAL 9th inning a hit was credited to Rutschman on a 3B misplay
BAL WON because of the 2nd non error misplay
3 – Game 2 vs BAL – 3rd inning a hit was credited to Hays on a 3B misplay
NO MISPLAYS in GAME 3 vs BAL
NO MISPLAYS in GAME 4 vs PIT
NO MISPLAYS in GAME 5 vs PIT
4 – Game 6 vs PIT – 6th inning a hit was credited to McCutchen on a 3B misplay allowing a run to score creating a 2 run rally instead of being out of the inning
NO MISPLAYS in GAME 7 vs DET
NO MISPLAYS in GAME 8 vs DET
NO MISPLAYS in GAME 9 vs DET
NO MISPLAYS in GAME 10 vs TB
NO MISPLAYS in GAME 11 vs TB
NO MISPLAYS in GAME 12 vs TB
NO MISPLAYS in GAME 13 vs TB
NO MISPLAYS in GAME 14 vs LAA
NO MISPLAYS in GAME 15 vs LAA
NO MISPLAYS in GAME 16 vs LAA
NO MISPLAYS in GAME 17 vs LAA.
So at this point Devers has mishandled 4 plays out of 35. The books show no errors thanks to the score keeper but 4 errors should have been tallied.
Does it make a big difference? HELL YES.
His fielding percentage is .886 NOT 1.000 if the score keepers were honest people. They aren’t and we can’t change that but that DOES NOT make Devers a good fielder, it simply masks how incredibly bad he is.
In 2022 had the 52 misplays counted as errors his fielding percentage would have been .879. Right now it’s .886. League average the last two years is roughly .966 or 80 points higher than what Devers’ should have been accountable for.
Cheating by the score keeper transforms a .880 fielder into a .942 fielder and that’s still 20 POINTS BELOW LEAGUE AVERAGE!!!!
There is absolutely NO WAY TO SPIN DEVERS INTO A SOLID FIELDER.
HE IS THE WORST IN BOSTON RED SOX HISTORY OVER 7 SEASONS AT 3B!!!
Nobody every got to play 7 seasons in Boston being as bad as he is which speaks volumes to the politics that is Red Sox baseball and why the team is in the gutter right now. Not just the cellar but the gutter.
Where is the integrity when you hire a serial cheater as the manager and you ask the score keepers to cheat and make Devers look far better than he is. The irony is that with all that cheating he’s still 20 points below league average!!!
Wake up and smell the stench that is Devers’ defense!!! .886 without score keeping cheating.
13 Paragraphs really?
Thats your opinion. My opinion is he’s played nicely at 3B and has shown great improvement this year.
But lets not trust either of our opinions:
1) Baseball Savant has him as +2 OAA for 2023. Meaning hes Above Average
2) Fangraph has him at +7.7 UZR/150, Meaning hes Above Average
3) Baseball Reference has him at +10 Rtot/yr and +2 OAA. Meaning hes Above Average
Somebody is wrong. Hmmm who could it be? You or three respected sites that analyze fielding with an unbiased view.
According to you in Game 1 Devers made 2 miscues on Rutschmann hits that should have been errors?
Heres the video of all 5 of Rutschmann’s hits from Opening Day. Not one of them is anywhere near Devers. The closest is a line drive single to LF that cleared Devers glove by at least 5 feet:
google.com/search?q=rutchman+hit+orioles+red+sox&#…
You wouldn’t be lying to us now would you KD17???
KD17 has to keep lying about Devers because otherwise his rant about the team giving him the huge contract extension being a massive overpay winds up being just so much more BS from him. Facts are Devers has worked very hard to improve his defense in recent years and it’s showing.
True on Devers working hard, he is greatly improved, especially his footwork.
Reminds me a similar thing with Wade Boggs. When he first came up he was a terrible 3B fielder. But he improved after a few seasons, and was one of the better defensive 3Bs in the AL. But, that didn’t matter to many Red Sox fans, in their minds, he was and always will be thought of as a poor defensive 3B
King – You can’t magically gain something you don’t have. A person with bad hand/eye coordination doesn’t typically improve it through repetition. That’s why they are called God Given talents. You have them or you don’t.
Can an average defender slightly improve his defense with practice. Yes. Can one of the worst defenders in history suddenly compete with Arenado for a gold glove? No. I don’t care if your perception is that Devers is a hard worker because I have documented at great length that he’s been bad since he was 16 in the DR at their Baseball Academy where the guy who runs it declared him the future of the Red Sox.
He came to the US and signed with Boston and he was horrendous in the minors for nearly half a decade. He got promoted to the majors and was terrible there. So, if he worked his butt off since 16 at being a good defender and he hasn’t improved why would he improve now or in the future? Magic? It’s been 10 years of incredibly hard work on his part according to you. He’s no better, the score keepers are simply helping him look less horrific.
Put yourself in Sale’s shoes who has had many years with him. Sale lives on the low inside pitch to righty hitters. Would you want the worst fielder in club history to be playing the most likely position to receive a ground ball when righty hitters are up? I wouldn’t. The same is true for all the pitchers. If you had ever pitched, you would know how aggravating it is to have the coach’s son or some kid not qualified to play a key position make countless errors and kill your chances of winning.
There is no conspiracy being laid out by me. Devers has been an issue with me since 2017 when he made 14 errors in 56 games for a .906 fielding percentage. That was back before score keepers were told to pad his numbers!! In 2018, Cora sat him because his defense was atrocious and he wasn’t hitting. That helped the team win a RING!!
That’s the Devers story year after year. Long before his contract extension. Ask other readers, I’ve been on Devers defense since 2017 and it’s not about his contract.
His contract is an over-pay and I’ll show you why.
JD Martinez and Nelson Cruz jump out as the two most obvious comps for Devers who can’t field either. I won’t score points against Devers for all the misplays I will simply compare their production on offense.
Devers – OPS+ 2022 141, 2021 134, 2020 107 2019 132 2018 94 2017 112
JD – OPS+ 2022 117 2021 128 2020 79 2019 139 2018 173 2017 170
Cruz – OPS+ 2022 90 2021 129 2020 171 2019 168 2018 135 2017 149
As you can probably notice Devers peak is 141 for the 6 year period
JD’s peak was 173 when he was contracted for $22MM per year
Cruz’s peak was 171 and his pay never exceeded $16MM
So what should a 141 OPS+ guy be paid who can’t field?
A – Money comparable to the greatest players in the game who can field?
B- Slightly more than the greatest DH in baseball since 2018?
C -He shouldn’t be signed as a one dimensional player with a bad body type for aging and no defensive skills that can help the team.
My answer is C but as a home town player I revise it to B. Definitely not A!! Which is what he got.
REMEMBER – A good 3B actually makes 10 or less errors per year without the score keepers cheating so the 12 extra that Devers has averaged will significantly improve the team defense if they go away. Also, the pitchers and the wins will improve as well. There is a significant cost to him staying at 3B and it should have been reflected in his contract.
A player who is peaking at 141 OPS+ at age 25 should NOT be making money comparable to the real stars in baseball.
At 25 Mookie Bets won his first MVP with an OPS+ of 186 and a gold glove.
He’s making just $4MM per year more AFTER he accomplished all that!!.
At 25 Harper had 1 MVP under his belt and had an off year with a 133 OPS+ which aligns with Devers 2nd and 3rd best seasons!! Since 25 Harper has won another MVP and has an 11 year OPS+ of 143 which is higher than Devers peak yet they are making comparable money!!!
For all these reasons and believe me I could list another dozen examples of why Devers is grossly over paid for what he contributes to the team. I thought $25MM was a generous offer but I would have limited it to 8 years ($200MM total contract) because at 33 his rapid decent should either be started or about to start. The team saves over $100MM in future money for other players if Devers had gotten a fair contract.. Now he’s just an albatross waiting to happen.
King:
1) If I was comparing players over several years, the last factor I would use is each players single best season. Those are called ‘anomalies’ and rarely capture the real picture. Thats usually is used in comparisons when you see an anomaly that favors the point youre trying to fabricate.
2) If I were comparing salaries from contracts signed this year and 5 years ago, I would definitely use some sort of pro-rating system, unless the older signing is the one Im trying to fabricate my point for.
3) Age, age, age would definitely play into the comparison.How much and how long a player gets paid would definitely depend on his age. I would definitely pay a 26yo player much more to lock up his 26, 27, 28, 29 years, over his 29, 30, 31, 32. You know,unless I was trying to fabricate a point.
lol… Facts
Knobby – He did a good job of getting on base today, never count out Dombrowski draft picks.
Rearranging the chairs on the Titanic
The ChaimTanic
If the Red Sox are the Titanic, what do you have to say about the 13 teams with worse records than Sox? — Drama Queens gotta Drama.
Better than Houston, Philly, StL, and SD, and tied with Seattle & the LAD.
Red Sox fans are in perpetual panic mode.
With the money that the Sox spend so you think they should be middling? Or do drama queens think?
Red Sox have the 14th highest payroll in 2023, per Spotrac. They are tied with the 14th best record right now. I hope for better, but I think its pretty logical they are where they are.
But Drama Queens are going to say the sky is falling. Thats my point.
And a Swing and a Miss by Elbo.
Elbo – great analogy. I can hear the music playing on deck and ownership has yet to instruct the captain to man the life boats!!!
Dalbec needs a fresh start with a different organization.
Oakland A’s or Washington Nationals
Yes, either that or an entire year in AAA rebuilding his approach.
Dalbec appears to be someone who can be useful if he plays fairly regularly, but Cora likes to utilize his favorites and keeps Dalbec on the bench.
Dalbec will never play regularly without an injury to either Casas or Turner.
Dalbec played regularly last season…same results.
harry – Dalbec also played regularly in 2021 and had decent results. The problem is pitchers made adjustments, and he didn’t know how to deal with those adjustments.
I’m (finally) looking forward to seeing Duran. He’s finally making more consistent contact and taking walks.
But I have to question the timing. The move only makes sense if Ki Ki continues to be our SS. If Ki Ki continues to be our CF, as he has been the past 5 games, the Duran then becomes a useless #6 outfielder.
Ki ki needs to return to SS. Pass the Pepto Bismol and all, but that’s the best alignment.
Joe – I’m happy to see you’re on board with Duran, as too many people were too quick to write him off.
What are your thoughts on having Arroyo play SS and KIKÉ play 2B?
Arroyo is not even a regular. imho.
Joe – Until Mondesi and/or Story return, I’m afraid Arroyo will be playing like a regular.
I’m afraid Arroyo will be playing like a regular.
==========================
I can’t watch him. It’s like watching Franchy play 1st or watching Chavis hit. Arroyo has no clue as to which pitch he is going to swing at. Manny might’ve been crazy, but he was a hitting savant. He knew every pitch that was thrown to him. Every sequence. Arroyo goes up there without a clue.
He has talent, but he needs discipline to get to the next level.
And I was never a fan of Duran. But like I said, sometimes injuries give a team a lower-risk opportunity to see their prospects play. Sometimes prospects wake and understand what they were doing wrong.
I still don’t expect anything. But he has a MLB K/W of 103/18, which is doomed. But so far in AAA, he has an 11/10. I expect the bad habits to return, but you that why people occasionally play 87s.
you that why people occasionally play 87s.
===========================
***But that’s why people occasionally play 87-suited***
JoeBrady;
Hernandez is not a full-time ML SS.
If the Red Sox don’t want to call one of their SS prospects up from
the minors, than they should trade for a legitimate SS. There are
a number of qualified SS’s that are playing back-up or in the high minors that should be available.
As I noted the other day – turning on a Red Sox game and seeing Bobby Dalbec at SS was shocking to me. That was not something
a fan should see at the ML level.
I was shocked at Dalbec as well. Having an infielder’s glove is something you put at the bottom of his resume, as in, he is a 1B/3B, and can catch the ball at SS or 2B in case of a blowout or an injury. If Cora walked in and found Chang and Ki ki losing their lunch, then someone has to play SS (imo, Devers with Dalbec at 3rd).
But starting Dalbec at SS reminded me of starting Franchy at 1B. It’s not watchable.
Hernandez has started hitting better since leaving SS. I think it’s an uncomfortable, unnatural position for him, and, like many players, he’s benefitting from now being elsewhere.
Putting him back at SS is a step backwards. Even Chang would be a better SS than Kiki at this point.
GASox – I posted the exact same thing under a different article, quite often when a player struggles defensively it affects their hitting. KIKÉ was definitely underperforming at the plate, and I think playing SS was the reason why. Or maybe it was the lime green shoes. LOL
Joe – Agreed, Duran only makes sense if Hernandez is at SS. The Red Sox only other SS option is Chang as they do not have a natural SS in Worcester. Duran is CF against RHP, and Chang against LHP with Hernandez switching back and forth looks like what they plan from the roster construction.
The best scenario would to have two Durans out there but that’s not the Ordinary World we live in today.
WTF ???????????
Frank – It’s a song by a hugely popular band called Duran Duran.
Just go with it. LOL
Some people are too young to know who Duran Duran is/was.
When I graduated college we met a girl who claimed to have had the love child of someone from Duran Duran in Newport. Dunno if it was true, but, she had a fat stack of $50s, paid for all the drinks that afternoon, and gave me $200 when we left.
Her name was Rio?
GASox – Dare I ask what you did to get the $200? Heheheh!
Cartrow – I always said Vazquez’s walkup song should be Hungry Like The Wolf.
That’s actually Maton’s walk up song in Detroit.
Actually, nothing. Just was at a an expensive hotel/resort bar on the water with my sister, and, I guess she was lonely.
At the end she peeled off some bills and said here you go, happy graduation. It was weird, but, she did have a huge wad of cash so who knows.
Makes a fun story though.
GASox – I guess you can chalk it up to being in the right place at the right time.
Bello needs more time in the minors. He is not there yet hence 4 runs in the first inning. I was not too impressed with him last year. I guess we shall see. We beat a mediocre Angels team with 3 wins.
Bello is another one of Cora’s people. His spot is secure.
Bello was signed by DD you nimrod.
So was Cora.
Joe – What does that have to do with Cora showing favoritism to Bello?
How is he showing favoritism to Bello? Bello is a solid prospect, that I’d bet projects to a solid #3 or better.
Are you saying that Bello doesn’t deserve a shot?
Joe – You’re getting confused, I’m not the one who said Cora is showing favoritism to Bello. Milt said it.
All I said was your response didn’t have anything to do with the post to which you were responding.
Al – Great post, I completely agree! No Trout, no Rendon, and Bello still got raked.
Having Bello start versus Ohtani was a big mistake…. another Brillant move by clueless Cora.
Another point….. Devers 7th inning Double…. should have been a triple…. cost them a run. Duran should be stealing 3rd with one out as well… could have got another run…. For a manager who is supposed to be a genius…making all the right moves… he seems to one step behind more often than not.
Agree. Too young and unseasoned. Seriously, Crawford looks more like a guy that should be in the starting 5, maybe even bumping Pivetta. Go with the strength not wishful thinking…
displaced – As a starter this season Kutter has an ERA of 8.00 so I think as good as his relief outing today was, it’s a little premature to hand him a starting rotation spot … and even then, what are they gonna do … have a 7-man rotation?
According to FPG his first start on a cold and wet day (4/3) is much more important than his other 3 outings since (14.1 Inn/1.26 ERA).
Sure that makes a lot of sense. Also, thx whoever opened my eyes last week on Cutter. The infamous “Hes Not an Ace!” post. Ive watched closely since, and he has been impressive. His fastball is nasty.
Err ‘Kutter’ not ‘Cutter’.
rsmith
There will be fans that will be convinced that Crawford needs to be aborted from a list 26 men, he did n’t deserve this place.
And he likes me, he have good things.
Yeh, I think you were part of the conversation last week. I had watched and liked his start, then when he came in yesterday (Mon) he was lights out, Its just a shame the bats couldnt scratch another run for him. They kept getting guys on 2nd and 3rd but couldn’t come through. It wouldve been nice to see.
—
But right now he belongs in the rotation, maybe Houck or Pivetta should come out. Whitlock looks great, Brasier and Sale are locks for good or bad, and Bello deserves a couple more chances.
Dalbec’s never been thrown out trying to steal. So there’s that.
My question is, if Tristan Casas becomes Bobby Dalbec 2.0, what will it take to get Eric Hosmer back from the Cubbies?
Major league minimum and a bag of balls.
Yup, so far Casas is Dalbec with more hype. He’ll get his year and we will see.
spitball
Leave off already to compare Casas to Dalbec, Triston played very small in a major league he needs time he will be good.
Look at the dissidences of Casas in this season, many were afraid that he won’t be able to beat lefties and for him while reverse strings :
2023 – vs lefties .235 AVG, .845 Ops, 19 AP; vs right .097 AVG!!!, .397 Ops!!!, 34 AP.
2022 – vs lefties .211 AVG, .611 Ops, 25 AP; vs right .193 AVG, .817 Ops, 70 AP.
He needs to begin to beat righties and his numbers will become better.
The team is now 8 and 9 and 1 game behind a 74 win pace. The next opponent is MIN 10-6 after sweeping KC, losing 2 of 3 to MIA, beating HOU 2 out of 3, beating the CWS 2 of 3 and losing 2 of 3 to the Yankees. They are considered an AVG team with regard to the forecast that I am referencing in this post but the games are in Fenway so the Red Sox are projected to win 2 of 3 to stay 1 games off their 74 win pace.
Here is the bad news. After MIN comes MIL and BAL on the road, then CLE and TOR at home then PHI and ATL on the road. The Red Sox are projected to go 5-14 during that 19 game stretch after MIN. So assuming 2 of 3 from MIN then by May 10th the team will be 15-23 eight games below .500. Fortunately, the last half of May is easier so they should finish the month of May 6 games under .500. June, however, is an ugly month. There first five series are TB, CLE, NYY twice and COL so that should drop them back to 8 games below .500 as the all-star break is approaching.
The reason I mention all this is that I’m trying to figure out what Boston can do to change it’s future besides getting rid of Bloom and Cora. Bad defense, weaker hitting than last year and much better pitching than last year. The team had two hot hitters in Duvall and Devers and lost Duball. Their young pitchers have looked better than expected but Sale and Kluber are not the Sale and Kluber that will put up wins and eat innings. The bull pen while used in the most bizarre fashion by Cora remains better than last year.
So where does the catalyst to win more games come from? It’s not likely to be talent since Bloom doesn’t believe in talent. The farm system has no ready to break out stars. The manager keeps playing Kiki. How can this team turn things around?
I have no idea. Pinks slips are the only way that I can see things turning around.
Twins didn’t lose the Yankees series they split
Remove – You are right. I transposed the data incorrectly. My bad. 2-2 for the series with NY and MIN. I’m guessing that means they are even better than I suggested. Good catch.
“The team is now 8 and 9 and 1 game behind a 74 win pace.”
8×162/17 = 76.235 not 74. That would be 2.235 games ahead of a 74 game pace.
Why lie all the time?
This board when Faria was signed.
“Why did bloom sign this loser?”
This board when Faria was waived
“I can’t believe they let Faria go”
DFA useless Chang!
min – Casas and Yoshida and Wong not looking that much better either.
Golden Sombrero for Casas tonight.
Well for those people who still question one of Bloom’s GOOD decisions, cutting bait with Vazquez, last night’s game showed beyond a shadow of a doubt why Vazquez is a horrible catcher.
Yes at times he can hit well, as he’s been doing thus far this season. But last night behind the plate he was brutal.
1) Catcher’s interference
2) Passed ball due to laziness
3) Dropped throw that should have gotten the runner out at home
The Twins will soon be regretting that contract they gave him, if they aren’t already.
FPG – At least you used a fair sample size!!!
If you offered me two McGuires for a Vazquez I wouldn’t take it.
You do realize how much he loved being a Red Sox player and how much it must have hurt to be tossed in the garbage by Bloom the know nothing twit. Give the guy a break. His offense was good nearly every year and his defense was way better than Devers. He threw out enough runners and his price was reasonable for a top 10 catcher.
A quote from a show that may pre-date you….. “I think you are being a little hard on the Beav!!” hahaha
KD – I know Vazquez is one of the few things we disagree on. Heheh!
As Eddie Haskell would say “Hey Wally, nobody’s home. Let’s call up some girls and pretend we’re talent scouts.”
“Dropped throw that should have gotten the runner out at home”
Did Vazquez drop the ball: Yes, Was there any chance of getting the runner out: No.
Video is half way down the page:
overthemonster.com/2023/4/18/23688987/red-sox-5-tw…
Throw was terrible, Vazquez tried to time it perfectly but runner’s hand was already on the plate when his empty gloves touches the runner.
“Passed ball due to laziness”
It was a Wild Pitch not a Passed Ball.
Of your 3 points only 1 of them is accurate.
I’m so sick of a lot of Sox fans here. Just take it as it is and don’t complain about more than what we are told- after all, you aren’t running the team.
If Bloom fails, I’m sure he will be fired this year. If not, you know where John Henry stands. We are a .500 team right now. Still a lot of baseball to play.
Bloom’s BFF – If Bloom fails? Have you looked at the team, the record and the ticket sales? Bloom already failed.
So maybe you should say if Bloom continues to drastically fail he will be fired this year.
We are a .500 team who just played one of the easiest parts of our schedule and finished at .500. That means we are still 4 games over .500 since Bloom arrived and took over a championship team and DD was 104 games over .500 in less than four years after taking over a team floundering from the loss of Papi.
Your BFF is really bad at his job and the sooner he goes the sooner a new GM can fix all that Bloom broke.