At 40-40, the Red Sox sit 13 games behind the division-leading Rays but are a more manageable three and a half games back in the American League Wild Card chase. A month of strong play or a month of poor play would drastically alter the team’s postseason hopes, and chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom tells Alex Speier of the Boston Globe that the team’s play over the next several weeks will determine the front office’s approach to the Aug. 1 trade deadline.
“If we’re able to play well, and that should make us more aggressive,” said Bloom. “…That frankly dictates how you go into the deadline and what you’re looking to accomplish.”
The Red Sox, like many teams in today’s MLB, walked the line between traditional “buyer” and “seller” at the 2022 trade deadline. Veterans Jake Diekman and Christian Vazquez were traded away, but Boston also acquired a big league catcher (Reese McGuire) in that Diekman swap and swung separate trades to acquire veterans Tommy Pham and Eric Hosmer. The Sox wound up hanging onto veterans Rich Hill, Michael Wacha, J.D. Martinez, Nathan Eovaldi and Xander Bogaerts despite all five being on the cusp of free agency. (Boston ended up narrowly exceeding the luxury-tax line, thus reducing their draft compensation for Eovaldi and Bogaerts, who rejected qualifying offers.)
Bloom’s wait-and-see approach is one being employed by many teams right now. The Red Sox are one of six American League teams within six games of a playoff spot. Over in the National League, there are another four non-playoff teams that are currently fewer than six games back from positioning themselves for a spot. Understandably, those clubs aren’t yet giving up hope on their season. Some may become sellers closer to the deadline, while others will surely play their way into clear-cut buyer status. Broadly speaking, given the parity throughout the league and the increased frequency with which teams are willing to cash in Major League assets who have dwindling club control, many clubs will take that same hybrid buy/sell approach that the 2022 Red Sox took at last year’s deadline. Boston itself could certainly do so again.
As is the case with many baseball operations leaders, Bloom spoke in generalities and didn’t detail what his club might seek on the market should they end up looking to add pieces. Rotation help is an obvious need in Boston, however, evidenced both by a 4.89 ERA from their starters (26th in MLB) and by the trio of starters on the injured list at present. Chris Sale, Corey Kluber and Tanner Houck are all on the shelf, leaving the Sox with a rotation of James Paxton, Brayan Bello, Garrett Whitlock and Kutter Crawford at the moment. That group has performed well of late, it should be noted, with Paxton in particular thriving now that he’s finally healthy. However, the depth beyond the current staff is thin, at best, and there are both health (Paxton) and workload (Whitlock) concerns among the bunch.
A timeline for Houck, who recently underwent surgery after being struck in the face by a comeback line drive, hasn’t been fully clear since he incurred that frightening injury. Sean McAdam of MassLive.com now reports that Houck is unlikely to return before August. The right-hander hasn’t thrown in two weeks and will still need additional time to recover from a procedure that inserted a small plate into his cheekbone. It’ll be a long enough layoff that Houck will need to build arm strength back up and go out on a minor league rehab assignment.
Houck, 26, has had an up-and-down season while seeking to establish himself as a long-term option in the Boston rotation. At the time of his injury, he was sitting on a 5.05 ERA through 67 2/3 innings, although his strikeout rate, walk rate, ground-ball rate and average on balls in play were all right in line with his 2022 levels, when he posted a tidy 3.15 ERA in a similar sample of 60 innings. Houck has seen more than twice as many of the fly-balls he’s allowed leave the yard this season, which is the primary culprit for the ERA spike. He’ll apparently have to wait at least five weeks before he’s able to return to the mound and correct that ugly trend.
We need to trade; Turner, Verdugo (Or extend him now), Paxton, Pivetta, and dump Like right now. I do want to keep Martin and Jansen for next year but if we can get a ton for them do it. Be the first seller. A complete reverse of last years strategy.
I have a feeling that Boston will still be close enough to a wildcard berth that Bloom will pull a repeat of last season, both buying and selling just to tread water and sell tickets.
If they fall out of the race, Paxton & perhaps Justin Turner could net them the best returns unless they decide to sell Jansen as well.
They could also look to move Duvall, Kiké, Pivetta and perhaps even Dalbec if he can get hot with the bat. Trevor Story should be back shortly after the trade deadline, so moving Kiké would make a lot of sense (I bet the Dodgers would take him back in a second).
It’s just such a shame that this team is so directionless. This team should have been built around Mookie, Xander and Devers. Instead, two of them are gone and have been replaced with one year rent-a-players. Their closest farm system talent is probably two years away from contributing (Mayer, Yorke, Rafaela), so we’re going to see a repeat of this ‘strategy’ again in 2024. With the exception of the Yankees, the other AL East teams have an established core of young players and players in their prime, so they will be playoff contenders for the next 3-5 years. Boston is in a very tough spot and will remain there through at least 2025 if not longer. It should have never gotten this far but as they say it is what it is.
If they can get some true major league talent back at the deadline, I would say sell, but if all they can get are lottery tickets then I’d keep the team together and see if they can somehow get hot in August and push for that final wildcard spot.
Forgot about Duval. I hope he gets hot again. I want to trade for younger players not needing to be on the 40 for a couple of years. Let’s give Duran his last true shot and play Duran daily and even gave Rafaela a shot in September. Play Hamilton a lot too.
We’ll need more disposable arms later this year as Bello, Crawford, Whitlock, get close to the 130-140 innings pitched threshold. Even Wink (75 ip in 65 games), and Houck may get there too
One problem is having moved the trade deadline.
Everyone still plays the ‘let’s wait till the actual day of the deadline, see what happens between now and then’ game.
It’s a different world.
A couple years ago you could be on the periphery. You bought players. You STILL had a pretty good chunk of season left they could make a difference.
Now, the number of games you have a guy on a deadline deal? Way less. Harder to make up ground.
You’ve had half a season to see what your team is made up of. Waiting an extra couple weeks doesn’t make them better. Either you know you’re a contender with a handful of extra pieces, so, you get them, or, you know you’re not.
It’s much easier than this front office makes it out to be. This is a deeply flawed team, sell sell sell. You want youth, control, prospects, sustainability. Sell your pieces to get that.
So full teardown and rebuild with Devers?
Isn’t the difference like three days?
Sell anyone, ANYONE, except your controllable young pitching IF the price is right. And yes, that includes Devers.
You know Swanzey, I think you’re right. Let’s call it chemobrain. But I feel like it was more than thay, but, middle of last week of July to middle first week of August isn’t what it seemed like.
Rest of the premise holds though… there’s no secret untapped talent in this squad that makes them better by just waiting. It’s an excuse to punt on the situation.
Trading Deadline moved 1 day from July 31st to August 1st (this year). Bizarre take, to think it makes any difference.
This team with Chaim Bloom at the helm is going to be rebuilding for years to come. We need a real GM who is not afraid to trade prospects for established players like Dombroski did.
Dombroski and Bloom had very different edicts from Henry.
Dorothy_Mantooth;
“This team should have been built around Mookie, Xander and Devers.”
Devers will be there for years. Yet again, Mookie made it clear he was going free agent. Verdugo is currently slashing .307 / .379 / .477 / .856 with a 3.0 bWAR and 2.4 fWAR in about a half season. He’s 27 years-old. Xander got $100m more in free agency than most people predicted, and is one of many radically overpaid position players that have led the Padres to a W-L record 5 games under .500…..in spite of the fact that they hired an excellent pitching coach a few years ago that has their pitching staff #1 in MLB by ERA.
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“With the exception of the Yankees, the other AL East teams have an established core of young players and players in their prime, so they will be playoff contenders for the next 3-5 years.”
Those things tend to quickly change in MLB divisions.
Yes, the Rays and Orioles have built true organizations that make their players under contract better and play strong fundamental team baseball. They don’t just have have strong young cores, but strong farm systems as well.
On the other hand, don’t see where the disappointing Blue Jays have a larger young core than they had 2 years ago, and don’t see a group of quality youngsters on their way up.
As for the Yankees – I agree with a poster here that wrote that NYC teams have their prospects / farms systems radically overrated by national baseball media people (probably to get more clicks and viewers from the large major market that eats up that stuff). Volpe is obvious, but Peraza and Cabrara were up at the end of 2022. With the team playing the way they are how come they’re not up this year? Jasson Domínguez is slashing .202 / .348 / .365 / .713 in AA ball – the best thing he has going for him is that he’s only 20 years-old. But he’s surely not a young Bryce Harper at this point…..which the publicity pimps would have readers believe.
So that leaves the Red Sox competing with the Rays and Orioles in the AL East over the next few years. With the extended playoffs they’ll at least be wild card candidates shortly.
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“If they can get some true major league talent back at the deadline, I would say sell, but if all they can get are lottery tickets then I’d keep the team together….”.
Look, how many teams actually get back what proves to be “true major league talent” at the trading deadline compared to the number of young players that are moved? The purpose of most teams trading veterans at the deadline is to get out of their contracts…sometimes for that year, sometimes because they have multiple years left. MLBTR recently had a series of articles about deadline moves that worked out with teams getting back youngsters over the past number of years. But put that in perspective and compare that to the number of trades that were made and the number of (primarily young) players that were traded for veterans.
How would this team have been built around Mookie, Xander, and Devers though?
Sox won 84 games in 2019, were a luxury tax paying team for the 3rd season in a row, and had one of the worst farm systems in baseball…
What players would have complimented the 2020 and beyond Red Sox to such an extent that they would have been competitive?
How many games did almost the same squad win in 2018 pray tell?
Bloomers and apologists sieze upon 2019 where CORA deep-sixed the team from the start with his screw up of ST, it’s a FACT he’s owned up to. Then, they had some injuries but still were playing at a w/l clip better than playoff teams, they just had too big of an early hole.
Then, DD was canned, the team demoralized, and the towel was thrown in.
2019 would have no more represented 2020-onwards any more than 2018 would have as far as results andnplayer performances go.
Also, since you have a facts based issue, the 2019 Red Sox DID NOT pay CBT penalties a third year straight.
2019 is largely on the Red Sox players. They own their performance. The whole thing simply cannot be blamed on one person (Cora).
Pretty hard to hold the pitching staff accountable and ‘own’ their early season performance when the manager refused to allow them to pitch in ST…
Lack of proper preparation both impacts performance and increases injury risks
Just to get this out of the way, the Red Sox led the league in payroll in 2019 for the second consecutive season, and despite your twisting and turning and rationalizing and revisionist history, they still only managed to win 84 games…14 teams had better records than them despite spending far less on their rosters.
Who would Sox have relied upon and competed with in 2020? Not Chris Sale since he was hurt…not Rick Porcello obviously lol. What about JD Martinez and his .213 batting average that season? Not him either.
In the 3+ seasons since Mookie was traded, the team would not have done significantly better than Bloom’s teams have done, PLUS they wouldn’t be nearly as well off prospect wise and organizationally…
Dombrowski took over a bad situation created by Cherington, went all in to try to salvage said situation, was very successful, but at the expense of any sort of future success for the organization…
Red Sox badly needed a rebuild and that’s what Bloom has done.
And, don’t take my word for it.
In ALL of spring training, that’s the entirety of spring training, Chris Sale – 2 games appeared in; David Price – 2 games appeared in; Nate Eovaldi – 2 games appeared; Rick Porcello – 3 games appeared in.
The only guys who had anything more were the ones sorting out who was going to get a role in the back of the rotation – Brian Johnson, Hector Velazquez, and E-Rod.
Don’t take my word for it, look for yourself:
baseball-reference.com/teams/BOS/2019-spring-train…
Cora. Botched. Spring. Training.
Period.
And the results that followed had a good deal to do with that mistake. (BTW, relievers weren’t handled much better)
The players own their stats, not the manager. One man is not responsible for the the performance of a whole team for a whole season. That’s ridiculous. Players have responsibility. The coaching staff has responsibility. The GM has responsibility. You succeed or fail as an organization.
You know what? You’re completely right: Astros won the World Series last year because of how Dusty Baker and the organization handled baseball in *March*…
Get real, dude…your argument sucks.
Jtm – I’ll give you a pass as you clearly didn’t follow the team in 2019.
It was common knowledge Cora didn’t play his regulars hardly at all in 2019 ST because he felt 4 months wasn’t enough time to rest after winning the World Series.
Do you know what the purpose of playing ST games is?
To get the players prepared for the regular season by having them play their way into game shape.
As a result of Cora’s decision a 108-win world champion team, nearly all of whom returned in 2019, started the season 6-13 and went into May several games under .500 and the hole became too big to recover from.
And BTW heading into 2019 ST the Sox were favorites to repeat as WS champions. There had been 13 other teams since 1969 to win at least 104 games, 12 of them followed up with at least 92 wins the next season. The Red Sox won only 84.
Your Baker analogy is weak. Managers are responsible for preparing their team for regular season competition. If you are saying they have no impact on their team, then what the hell is the point of paying someone millions to be the manager.
GASox – The 2019 team was also demoralized at the trade deadline.
On July 28th they sat just a half game out of a WC spot, but John Henry was so furious with how the season started that he refused to approve any difference-making deadline acquisitions. Cashner was their only acquisition, he was brutal the year before and ended up being brutal with the Red Sox. He never pitched in the majors again.
How demoralized was the 2019 Red Sox about not getting any reinforcements to give them an opportunity to defend their title?
They lost 8 in a row, their worst losing streak of the season. Of course some people said the losing streak had nothing to do with the lack of deadline moves, that it was just a major “coincidence”. Yeah … right.
suit – I completely agree the whole thing can’t be blamed on Cora, but he was probably the biggest reason for the 2019 collapse.
When the manager goes on record saying a “well-rested team in August and September is more important than winning games in March/April/May”, everyone can’t help but wonder why he thinks early season games count less than August or September games. If anything they count MORE, because a poor early season record can lead to meaningless late season games. We saw that in 2019, we saw that last year, and we will likely see that this year.
Fever: I agree with all that. Cora certainly was horribly wrong, but everyone else in the organization went along with it, so I think it was an organizational failure.
suit – Hard to say if Bloom or anyone else would over-rule Cora.
This team should have been built around Mookie, Xander and Devers.
==========================
I’m not sure how many people know just how mediocre Xander is right now. I wanted him to re-sign even though my head said it wasn’t the smart thing to do (I’m talking when it might’ve been in the $185M range). He started off with 6 good games (which many pointed out), and has a .674 since then. He might well be a 15 HR, .280., okay glove guy going forward. Not bad at all, but not worth the investment.
Then again, Bogey has been playing through a forearm/wrist area issue for months, so, there’s that to his batting line. He’s also got a heck of a lot fewer errors than the Boston SS crew have assembled this season where they lead MLB in worst fielding pct as far as I’ve seen.
I’m new here, but I’m getting the vibe that literally the only thing you do is make excuses for player performances…
It’s never that your assessment of the situation is simply wrong, but that “the team was mismanaged during spring training!” or “his wrist has been nagging him!”
Get real.
Then read more.
I’m also Highly critical of many players – Kiki never had business at SS and I said so all winter. Casas needs to do better, he’s striking out in roughly 1/3 of this plate appearances when he is hitting, and that’s a big ‘when’ seeing how he’s struggled so much this year. Devers is an error machine, a bad extension, and is a glorified DH with no business on the field as a defender. Kluber is washed up, and I’ve been critical of him since before opening day when I said he didn’t deserve to be the starter. Duvall is over the hill, and has had a poor defensive track record including all last year, not just this one.
All things I’ve said often.
I calls em like I see them, own when I’m wrong, and stay the course consistently without waffling to the ‘popular’ narrative of the moment. If something comes to light meriting, in my opinion, a change of view I’ll own that too.
Jtm – Welcome to the board, where opposing views are appreciated.
Yes injuries and managerial decisions impact player performance.
So do psychological issues such as family deaths, loved ones who have an illness, and going through a separation
or divorce.
That’s why we always encourage looking beyond the numbers.
CaN’t WaIt FoR tHe InCoMiNg FiRe BlOoM cOmMeNts!
As someone who generally agrees with the underlying philosophy of Chaim Bloom… I do still think firing him needs to be considered. I’m actually someone who believes in developing prospects and having a balanced approach but it’s been 4 years and it’s not like we have all that much at the major league level or minor league level. Like we’re not the Reds or Orioles or Dodgers… our farm system is incrementally better but we don’t have 5 potential long term core pieces to look forward to.
Sure there is Mayer and Bello, Casas and Whitlock might be the start of a core but beyond that Bleis is years away (and hurt), Rafaela is intriguing but seems destined to struggle mightily with his offensive approach. Guys like Yorke, Blaze Jordan and Drohan could be MLB caliber players but not true core foundational stars. Beyond that there is no legitimate Starting Pitching prospects in sight… maybe you can make a case for a couple of guys in A-ball (Perales, etc) BUT that’s a maybe at best.
Not getting under the luxury tax last season was a horrible error in judgement as it cost them on compensation picks significantly for nothing at all. And not 4 years in, not 2 not 3… 4… what has Bloom really built? A ML team with glaring holes and a farm system with 1 legitimate blue chip prospect and a handful of maybe.
I even tend to overestimate their minor leaguers and hope they all become stars. But I look at teams like CIN and BAL (yeah I get it they draft higher more consistently) but we’re not even in the same universe as them minor league talent wise. And it’s not just that we’re a year or 2 away from it… those guys aren’t in the Sox system period.
Jeff Zanghi;
I like Chaim Bloom. But clearly there are some issues.
Most rebuilds fail. Not totally – teams can develop some good players….just not enough. But a part of doing a rebuild is to build a strong organization as well. One that develops disciplined players that get to the majors and play strong fundamental team baseball.
Example…..
I saw the Orioles doing that last year. In fact, even in the 3 years it took them to get there the crummy Orioles major league teams ran out every ball, tried to execute but weren’t good enough, and hustled for manager Brandon Hyde.
In turn I’ve watched the Pirates rebuild. The young players that have come up don’t play disciplined, fundamental team baseball. Most (if not all) play sloppy baseball. It’s nice to have a lot of prospects that get promoted. It’s nice to have pitchers that can throw and hitters that can hit – but building teams that will be sustainable contenders for years from out of a rebuild demands much more than that.
I’d say the Red Sox are somewhere in between the Orioles and Red Sox. I might also add that I loved Alex Cora as a player (saw him a lot with the Dodgers). He was baseball smart, hustled, and helped all the teams he played for. I thought he’d become a manager someday. Unfortunately, whether it’s him or the Sox organization (ML, MiLB, FO, Coaches, scouts, etc.), I just don’t see the youngsters that have been called up along with the existing veterans playing smart, disciplined baseball.
They do have a number of nice young pitchers though.
To clarify my comments….
MLB is extremely watered down. I’d say that at least half the teams this year are shades of bad/awful. 20% of them will make the playoffs. I don’t buy into the theory that the playoffs are a “crapshoot”. In MLB – as in the other professional team sports leagues – when we get to the championship games / series each year those are usually 2 of the best teams in the league….although some fans that follow the sport via the national media as opposed to watching the games are a bit surprised.
I do think the Red Sox can be playoff contenders within 2 years, and maybe even in 2024. But understand that whereas 20% of teams make the playoffs, 30-35% or so are playoff contenders each year. At least half the teams are bad – some because they’re in rebuilds, some due to excessive injuries, some just stink. So being a playoff contender – i.e. fighting for one of the last 2 wild card spots – is not really a big deal. It’s all for show – a selling point that the pro leagues use to create the illusion with as many fans as possible they their teams can DO IT!
*Kike
Over the next 24 games the Sox play 13 against the Marlins, Jays, Giants, Rangers and Braves. They also play 3 against the hot Cubs. The stretch will make or break them.
I suggest this mismatched & missing pieces jigsaw puzzle & nebulous excuse of a roster plan was broken two seasons ago.
The roster plan was broken when mookie Betts was traded by an over-his-head chaim bloom, giving up in the process a member of the rotation as well but failing to obtain a quality pitching prospect in return.
The team needed pitching, young, talented, pitching (still does) but didn’t secure anything while trading one of the top-3 talents in all MLB.
That one move told you all you needed to know.
Giving up HR’s is not necessarily a bad thing. If you throw strikes there’s a chance it will leave the park. That’s why there”s no such thing as a perfect pitch. If it’s in the zone, it’s hitable. If it’s out of the zone, it’s a ball, a mark against the pitcher. I think it was Robin Roberts who had the all-time record for giving up HR’s, and he’s in the HOF.
avenger – Some nasty pitches in the strike zone can be unhittable, and some pitches outside the strike zone – especially slightly above it – can be very hittable.
I’m fine with starting pitchers giving up homers, but you certainly don’t want relievers – especially closers – giving up homers.
At this point there is very little for them to trade. They are not going to get top prospects for players in their mid-30s. They should have traded Duran when he was hot, they can still get something for him but as his numbers come back to earth that return is diminishing.
He’s actually rebounded… and regardless they shouldn’t be trading him… he’s one of the VERY few young players who could actually have a role long term. Not to mention NO TEAM was going to overpay for a 1 month hit streak so unless you mean they should have traded him 3 years ago as a prospect… there hasn’t been another opportunity since then. Period.
The AL East is gonna be a gauntlet for few seasons now so either sandbag and pick up some top picks and lower the payroll or go all out. Just stay away from the middle
yeah pickup more draft picks so Bloom can load up on more SS’s and guys ranked way below where we are picking. He’s great at both of those.
The problem for the team is that can’t get above water and stay there. Win a few, get above .500 and then lose a few and end up right back where they started.
As long as they are hovering on the peripherals of a Wild Card spot they are not going to make wholesale changes and will likely do like they did last year, if they do anything at all
This team & the curator of it’s nebulous roster plan is an Avatar for a the constant runner up in a horseshoe tournament..
The issue too is that whenever they seem to improve in one area, another weakness gets exposed. It’s like the Titanic, they can only pump out so much water before they sink.
We cannot afford to have that half and half approach of last year’s deadline. They need to be decisively buyers or sellers.
Bloom put this team together. Sale has not pitched more than 50 innings in two years. Kluber is a shell of what he once was. Paxton has been injured a lot of his career. Bloom let Vazquez go to a team (Houston) we were playing that night, pretty pathetic. Story was damaged goods. He could have negotiated fairly with Bogaerts last year but did not. Betts should have been signed but was not and traded instead. It is going to be another last place finish. I just think this has not been an overly successful tenure for Bloom.
Bloom was on NESN last night talking about how successful the young players have been. Either he’s saying it because he is on NESN or he is legitimately deluded. Get him out of here.
Bud – It’s pure PR, nothing more. Trying to give reasons to buy tickets.
Do y’all know they are selling greatly reduced Fenway tickets in local Costco stores. And including free food and beverages in ticket packages.
They have become a small market team.
Bogaerts OPS is .730 and falling. It may turn out to be a great move to not sign him.
suit – Anything is possible, but we all know the wrist has been a major issue this season. Health will ultimately determine whether it was a good move to let him go … no different than Eovaldi, JD, ERod, etc.
Don’t forget guys, ask yourself this: even with an ailing wrist, and a declining ops this season resulting from it, how many errors could have been saved if Bogey was fielding instead of the retread crew of 2023? How many games not lost?
His impact just not committing the dozen and a half extra errors SO FAR is enough a 5 year extension would’ve been reasonable to this point
GA: There are better ways to improve SS defense than giving Bogaerts a 5 year extension at his salary. Hope you are doing well, BTW.
Suit – Thanks for the well wishes.
The worst of it these days are your normal chemo issues – fatigue, rashes that itch, and, periods of foggyness in the head. You forget a bit of what you did, or, you mix up numbers and dates. I asked the wife on my birthday, after we had a lunch out, then we went somewhere i needed to sign paperwork just what the date was! LOL. Had no clue.
But yeah, they drew more samples and biopsy stuff last week, checking to see how things are responding.
So, if I have the occasional brain fart on a post here or there where math or dates are so far off it’s an obvious error? Yep, that’s the source so beg forgiveness !
As for Bogey? Maybe. But if there was, they’d have it already wouldn’t they? I think he said he would’ve taken an extra 5/100 tacked onto what he was making that past season making it around 120m contract. I’m OK spending Henry’s money to have stability, give mayer 3+ years to ease into things and make sure he was ready for the highest level. Not that it matters at this point, just some non-story stability would be nice there.
Lol- define the alternative universe you are you observing.
Mookie is a prime mover on the Dogers- playing 76 Games Played- SS,- 2B,- RF- & CF & providing Tier One leadoff play with 20 HR’s- 50 RBI –
60 Runs- ..355 OBP – .869 OBP.
Who do we have in Boston with this level of actual production.!
He is injured and will not go on the disabled list. I would take him any day if the week. Bloom blew it by not signing him early last year or during the season. It was Bloom either on his own or carrying out the wishes of Henry. It was a bad move and Story has been nothing but an injury bust and was damaged goods before he got here.
Bogaerts OPS is .730 and falling. It may turn out to be a great move to not sign him.
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The fans criticizing not signing Bogaerts don’t have a clue of how he is doing.
Joe – Your post would be accurate if you simply added “some” fans, or even “most” fans.
Whenever I get a chance I see how the following former Sox players are doing:
Xander
Wacha
Eovaldi
JD
Mookie
Benny
ERod
Pham
Hill
Schwarber
Renfroe
Ottavino
Kopech
Moncada
Luckily many players who leave the Sox never play again in the majors, otherwise the list would be a lot longer.
Fever – time to make you cry.
Imagine the rotation if bloom kept all of e-rod, eovaldi, and wacha like many of us clamored for at the time, and hill as a swingman for the pen and spot starts?
GASox – Assuming they all stayed healthy? Yeah that would be some rotation.
But we hafta take into account the possible benefits they’ve received from going to other teams.
Nate having a career year at age 33
ERod having a career year at 30
Wacha having a career year at 32
What starting pitcher has had a career year after being acquired by the Red Sox?
BTW – There’s no crying in baseball ;O)
Franklin – Seems like Mookie is finally healthy this year, because he’s been amazing in every possible aspect.
If he stays healthy, he’s a certain HOF’er.
Fever – all pitchers get a healthy bump from not have Devers behind them, and a manager who will also emphasize defensive drills.
GASox – Valid point for this season.
Yeah they absolutely won’t do the 50/50 thing. If for no other reason then how awfully it backfired last year both with the media/fans and clubhouse and on paper (blowing the chance to get better comp picks for FAs)
I don’t think Bloom would be allowed to do the half in half out thing again and keep his job and he knows it.
Either he knows he HAS to win now and will go in or he has assurance he’s getting at least another year and then their record will dictate buying or selling depending on their standings
Jeff – Below is what Steve wrote, he’s usually spot on. If Bloom can trade a rental player for a ML caliber player with team control beyond this season, he might.
“Broadly speaking, given the parity throughout the league and the increased frequency with which teams are willing to cash in Major League assets who have dwindling club control, many clubs will take that same hybrid buy/sell approach that the 2022 Red Sox took at last year’s deadline. Boston itself could certainly do so again.”
How many more years is Bloom going to trade our players for prospects? Another last place finish this year? This might be okay in Tampa but not in Boston. The media and fans are not going to be pleased with this. This is the 4th year of Bloom and another last place finish
If a 20% chance of being a wild card team satisfies Bloomers, that’s another reason to can him at the end of the season. They aren’t winning the World Series or even a playoff series. They have no middle infield, shaky starting pitching, a weak bullpen and (aside from Devers and, eventually, Casas) no power. The farm is overrated aside from Meyer, Yorke, Rafeala and Drohan. They need a real GM and a manager who isn’t in love with (sorry, but it’s true) his own people.
Ownership as of now is no longer interested in doing what is needed to compete….
Ownership share is nearing hopelessly fractured.
Henry is the largest ownership share at 40%. Werner is second largest, but, I dont know his exact percentage.
The red sox are no longer a team about winning. They’re a cash cow to pay dividends to the FSG ownership group.
Henry isn’t interested competitive results only in the bottom line. As long as the sheep are paying (overpaying) the status will remain in place. This is becoming the 50’s/ 60’s red Sox but without any hopeful prognosis!
if i were a red sox fan i would probably hate bloom but as a yankee fan i see verdugo and wong as a great return for a player everyone knew HAD to be traded. biggest knock on bloom is failing to build a bullpen when the rotation was already so shaky. this team reminds me of the 2014-2016 “secret rebuild” yankees
Bloom is a complete fool. This team is going nowhere and heeds to sell at the deadline. Problem is he has nothing of value to sell. Time to chase his a..$$ out of Boston
The team is a dumpster fire. Dump everyone you can and tank the season.
The problem with this team is that you have a GM who shops bargain basement at Filenes and fills out his roster looking for bargains. He was lucky in 2021 but if he had traded for a good reliever instead of Robles and the guy they picked up from Pittsburgh they could have beat Houston.
Sometimes that works out okay but you cannot constantly do that without paying for established productive players. He got lucky with Wacha last year and surprisingly did not bring him back. He picks up Kluber who is stealing money for what he is giving you. You have guys out of position, you let JD Martinez walk along with Schwarber the year before. Story was damaged goods before he got here. He let Bogaerts walk for nothing when he could have signed him last year when he wanted to stay. He has players out of position. The team is a mess and it should not be after 4 years with Bloom at the helm. How on earth he thought that Sale was going to be a mainstay in the rotation after pitching less than 50 innings over two and a half years. Paxton gave you nothing for one year but is an injury looking for a place to happen. Team is destined for last place again and has just lost 4 in a row. What are you going to do pick up more prospects and tank next year too. I think this is the end of Bloom and his reign of incompetence.
Why did Bello come out and start the eighth inning? I didn’t see things until after the fact. They’ve been letting starters go 7 sometimes, which is great, but last night in a 0-0 game seems ill advised. I like Bello but you can’t ask for too much from him.
Hayzee – He had a no-hitter going!!!
It was a no hitter.
Holy cow, I didn’t notice that. Thanks. I need to pay a little more attention to the details.